harry_angel

Hi all, has anyone ever managed to reclaim previously removed permitted development rights? The fool who previously owned our house was outwitted by the council and stupidly signed away clause rights A, B and E. This was 7 years ago now. This article strongly suggests that unless exceptional circumstances were in place (there weren't, aside from basic green belt law), these rights shouldn't have been removed: http://just-planning.co.uk/how-to-get-rid-of-planning-conditions-that-remove-your-permitted-development-rights/ The National Planning Policy Framework (the NPPF), the granddaddy of planning policies, states that (paragraph 52): “…planning conditions should not be used to restrict national permitted development rights unless there is clear justification to do so.”
 The government’s national Planning Practice Guidance (the PPG) goes further, saying that: “Conditions restricting the future use of permitted development rights or changes of use will rarely pass the test of necessity and should only be used in exceptional circumstances.” Has anyone been through the process of getting said rights reinstated? Would be very interested to hear any experiences if so... Thanks.

Ok thanks, have proceeded. Of course, DM me!

I'm just about to engage a structural engineer to produce drainage and foul water plans to comply with "everything in Part H", attached. He's charging a fee of £360 for this...and the structure has no drainage currently. Is this a fair price do you think? Building_Regulation_2010_Part_H_Drainage_and_Waste_Disposal[2].pdf

Unfortunately as above, the previous owner signed away certain development rights, so everything has to go via the council now.

Like where your head's at...is Wayne Manor trademarked? ? Re hoovers...waiting for robots to get better...

Cheers guys. I should have been clearer that we would be expanding the loft space in doing this - you can see the change from the 2 images below. The 2nd image shows the proposed new 2nd floor. Currently the kitchen is single storey as you can see, but by making it 2 storey we also increase the potential size of the loft (because the existing loft will then have a new ceiling to link up to). I mean: it's a big job, we would be totally scrapping the existing pitch roof in favour of a new straight wall line + false pitch roof, semi-concealing a flat roof. So it's almost like we're saying to: "we want to convert what's already there....and add to it...considerably". I think I should probably tread softly softly and just apply as you guys say to add the bedroom above the kitchen and "re-sculpt" the roofline...which genuinely does look like a hodgpodge of random extensions currently. Note: the 2 images obviously show different sides of the house, which I know isn't clear or helpful. But the architect hasn't sent over the corresponding image yet.

Thanks Ragg, the previous owner signed away certain (not all) PD rights, in order to get his triumvirate of planning points through (we have actioned 2/3). The final one is the one we're looking to "swap". Like your thinking though, but no idea whether it is credible or not. Interesting that your council didn't care about the basement - because we're not near neighbouring properties I'm assuming the blocking light etc wouldn't be an issue for us, either. I suppose it's always trickier to go up rather than down, however. I just want to know whether it would even be judicious to refer to the loft in the pre app...part of me thinks just apply for the bedroom above the kitchen and the remodelled roof, which at just a 9.33m sq increase isn't much of a big deal... Very keen to hear other views.

Hi all, our property is set back in 3 acres in greenbelt and is almost 100m from any neighbouring properties. We are looking to fully convert and expand the loft area, by increasing the size of the 1st floor, which in turn will then "unlock" the loft (at present the loft isn't worth converting, due to lack of useable head height). Our predecessors secured planning for a front extension which we have never liked the idea of and do not wish to activate - this planning went through as part of other planning, which has been actioned, so is secured in perpetuity. So before you factor in the loft there is a +9.333m discrepancy between the planning the previous owners' secured, and building above the kitchen (the part which would then unlock the loft space properly). To my questions: first we'd need to get the council to agree to the +9.33m increase in "exchange" for the old planning secured second....how do we play it with the loft? Do we simply apply for the planning for the space above the kitchen, say the loft is going to be for storage (show windows on the drawings, or not?), then quietly convert it/stick a bathroom etc up there after it's all been signed off? Or just apply straight with the space shown, the windows shown, etc etc The council will struggle with objections about "openness of the green belt" and "disproportionate increases in size" because we are not increasing the dimensions of the footprint, nor the height of the structure. Throw in the 100m gap between us and other properties and that isn't the concern. We can probably even make a solid case that the structure looks bizarre currently, and we are improving it aesthetically. To our layman's eye the main refusal point would be on straight floor area increase: the house has already up to a c. 65% increase. The house currently is 258.55sqm + First floor extension above the kitchen = 35.55sqm + Proposed 2nd floor/loft area = 85.00sqm 258.55 + 35.55 + 85.00 = 379.1sqm (4080 sqft) However the loft has never been included in any floor plans, or footprints, or anything else. It's essentially new, unused, original 1913 space. Any advice on how best to play this very much appreciated!! Planning on putting in a pre app asap.