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Not sure about Wales but in England there is a thing called Riparian rights... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riparian_water_rights My understanding is that this is a bit like a right of way. If someone has been discharging water onto your land for long enough they acquire a right to keep doing so. Likewise you have a right to keep discharging when it leaves your property via the river. Wikipedia suggests it's your responsibility to deal with it as it crosses your land subject to approval by the agencies...

Think I would look up those references and quote them at the Planning officer. If he doesn't roll over you could hit him with an application for a Certificate of Lawful Development on the grounds PP isn't required and citing those references. Unlike a planning application a CLD should be issued based on law rather than opinion so neighbours don't get to raise objections to a CLD on the grounds of appearance. The down side is there is a fee for a CLD and if they say PP is required you would have to apply for it.

Google suggests repairing or improving a road doesn't count as engineering operations or development. This provides references to the Town and County Planning Act but I've not checked them. My bold... https://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/lexispsl/planning/document/393788/5J6Y-V7J1-F18C-4292-00000-00/Is_planning_permission_required_

PS I believe you can move in a few days after work starts without loosing the "empty for two years" VAT break.

Some other thoughts... Most home insurance doesn't cover empty properties, instead you "have" to take out empty property insurance. Council tax is frequently different for empty properties. HMRC might ask about that. It would be unwise to tell the council it was occupied to save money n council tax, but tell HMRC it was empty to reduce VAT.

I think free insurance is restricted to people on benefits but worth asking.

I was curious how many properties on their site meet that but couldn't figure out how to find any.

This site is out of date (Oct 2019) but it's the best/only one I know for comparing the cost of different fuels. https://nottenergy.com/resources/energy-cost-comparison/ See "Pence per kWh (after boiler efficiency)" column in the table. Note that electricity is (was) 4-5 times the cost of mains gas per kWh unless you use an ASHP or take advantage of a off peak electricity deal of some sort. That's the appeal of storage heaters compared to regular panel heaters.

In the 1960s I grew up in a house with a solid fuel fired heating system. Parents could not wait to get rid of it when gas came along. Glad to be rid of the daily cleaning and regular feeding it needed. I'm not familiar with modern Aga but I read they were intended to be left running all the time which can be a problem in summer. I gather many people have a second cooker for use in summer. There is no mains gas in our village so I went with an oil fired boiler feeding a thermal store and UFH. The thermal store helps stop the boiler short cycling which can be an issue if only one UFH zone is calling for heat. Mainly an issue if you want small zones. Thats because Oil boilers can't modulate down their burner like a gas boiler. They can only reduce output by switching the burner on and off which I liken to stop start driving a car in traffic. Our store has a high power heat exchanger on the side giving us mains pressure DHW for a large rain style shower and body jets. Great flow rate which was also an objective. In theory it's a nice idea if your wood burner can heat your DHW but if your house is well insulated even a small wood burner can be too powerful to use regularly. Our two are mostly only used at Christmas so we didn't bother with back boilers and the complication that adds. For cooking we opted for a dual fuel range from Britannia. It's got an electric oven and 6 ring gas hob on a pair of 47kg calor gas cylinders. Cylinder gas is too expensive for heating but ok for cooking as you use so little. A cylinder lasts us at least 18 months (family of four). Very happy with the way this works and would go this route again. So my recommendation would be to keep it simple.. Oil boiler feeding thermal store and UFH Dual fuel range cooker on cylinders if you like gas hobs. Wood burners for heat only. Others might disagree.

https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/all-planning-permissions-extended-until-april-2021

Just checking you are aware of the VAT issue if you let them out... https://www.isurv.com/info/390/features/11494/taxation_vat_costs_of_building_to_rent I think the solution is to sell the development to another company you own which then lets them out but best seek advice.

Would be interesting to know what exactly they provide for the £390. Is it some sort of insurance policy?

Companies can take out advance payment insurance (aka Credit Insurance, Supplier default insurance) but I don't know if individuals can. My understanding is the insurance co has to investigate the company in order to work out how much premium to charge and that research costs. There are likely to be minimum premium values. Google finds brokers. I guess you can ask them. https://www.credit-insure.co.uk/credit-insurance/types-of-credit-insurance-policy/advanced-payment-protection/ https://www.eulerhermes.co.uk/trade-credit-insurance/solutions/advanced-payment-protection.html

FFL (Finished Floor Level) is before any floor finishes. So after screed and/or chipboard flooring but before carpet or tile... https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Finished_floor_level#:~:text=Finished floor level (FFL) refers,any finishes have been applied.&text=The floor above may be,the floor below FFL 23%2C000. Most doors can be trimmed top and bottom. Check if yours can and by how much. If so you can set them a bit low and adjust later.

Not done it but I'm aware there can be issues. You not only need to have possession of the land for the required time but it must be "to the exclusion of all others". So make sure all the fences are present and intact. I would not replace any just make sure there are no gaps or evidence of a neighbour taking a short cut when they come over for coffee. Possession must be adverse. If the owner has ever given permission for you to use it you can't claim adverse possession. You must never acknowledge someone else owns the land. There is a sneaky way to stop an adverse possession claim. The owner rocks up (after say 12 years but before you have been granted title) and says he will sell you the land for a nominal £10. You accept the deal and he pulls out. Your previously valid claim to own it by adverse possession has just gone up in smoke because by accepting the offer you have acknowledged he owns it. Check out.. https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/security_of_tenure/squatters/adverse_possession

They may know what they are doing but the key to tarmac is making sure the base is prepared correctly. If that's not done right the tarmac will breakup. This might be why the previous tarmac failed years ago? If they are going to spend money it might be worth doing it to an adoptable standard. Adoption would make future repairs the council's responsibility. Even if it wasn't adopted the improved specification would reduce frequency of repairs. There is bound to be information on the prep required on the paving expert web site but the council will have specific requirements.

Ask him on what grounds. I can only think he is referring to the legislation referring to paving front gardens. That requires PP if you don't deal with surface water running off on site (eg using soakaway).

I think 45 degrees is the steepest "angle of repose" (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose ) recommended for a soil bank. Any steeper and you need some sort of retaining wall. I'd allow space for a french drain and a 45 degree bank between your wall and the boundary. If you want to make it closer perhaps look at a retaining wall using railway sleeper(s).

Welcome to the forum.

Our frameless shower came with chrome plated U channel to sit the glass in. We fixed that to the tray with a clear silicone sealer then used same to seal the glass into the channel. Been fine for 12 years.

+1 He should not itemise it on your bill. It should be factored into/hidden in his costs. A plumber doesn't itemise for use of the spanner or blow lamp he brings with him and uses himself but ultimately you do pay for them. It might be different if other people used the scaffolding in a addition to the MC. Did you hire subcontractors that also used it? If not ask him to hide it or you may both have to deal with VAT on the hire element.

Sounds like the window might be set too far outboard? Eg So far outboard that the plasterboard contacts the outer leaf? It should be inline with the cavity so that doesn't happen. Typically metal straps/brackets that clip into the sides of the frame are used to support it in that position.

Check if the Party Wall Act applies to the work they have done. Note that the Act covers much more than work on party walls. It covers digging their foundations within a certain distance of your house. If it does, and they did not comply with its provisions, then any court case is more likely to go in your favour. Check if your house insurance includes legal protection. Sometimes they will pay to fight your case but not always.

+1 and measure your openings. Our very experienced builder never purchased anything based on the plan dimensions. He always measured what had actually been built. He'd been caught out too many times.

If you are importing direct from Egypt (outside the EU) you need to check if there are any tarriffs or duty to be paid in addition to UK VAT. Typically imports will be held at customs or a clearing agent/forwarder until you have been contacted and paid up. There will also be a handling fee for the agent.