Bournbrook

Very useful to know. dod you ever receive any information about what comments were made at that meeting??

Oh yes. And have already sent the case officer a lengthy document disproving their claims. But I worry new ones will be made we can’t refute as we won’t know what they are!

Teachers. Not possible unfortunately!!

Our application! And we tried to dictate the time so we could join but their preference of time was taken. It means we are unable to join meeting due to work commitments.

Hi there we are planning a new build in our back garden. Currently waiting on planning decision and case officer has just informed us he is visiting site. He has said he doesn’t need us to be in for site visit as can gain access via an unlocked gate. However, he has also informed us he is meeting on the same day with a group of neighbours in a single meeting. This is significantly after the consultation (and due decision) date and I am obviously worried they now have his ear yet we don’t get any opportunity to meet him, know what they’ve said or have any chance to reply to any additional comments. This seems wrong to me when every other part of the process seems so prescriptive. I’ve searched and searched but can’t find any guidance document from my LPA that is relevant to guide me on what the correct procedure should be. can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks for all these i think we probably only need one sofa in reception (a sofa bed to also be a guest room). We will definitely want a tv in that room too. I had thought about a nice couple of armchairs by the kitchen. I like the idea of being right by the kids watching tv when I’m cooking so it feels like we are all together. I had also thought about only having 4 chairs around dining table for most of the time and have a couple of fold away ones in a cupboard for when we need them just too add a little more room and make it feel less cluttered

Good idea but unfortunately the return is due to a RPA so absolutely no wiggle room!!

Thanks for this. Is this better than floorplanner.com?

The shape is very much dictated by the tiny plot. It works around car turning areas, RPAs and overshadowing etc. I know it looks a bit odd, but a more standard shape just wasn’t an option!! utility room near front door was because we’d like it act as coat storage/small bootroom area. I love the beach idea!!

Hi everyone. We are currently going through the planning process for a 2 storey new build in our current garden. I am now starting to think this could actually be a reality and looking into the finer details and beginning to worry. We have an open plan kitchen/living area at the rear of the house with a reception room attached with pocket doors so the area can be closed off for kids tv room/guest bedroom if needed. I am concerned that the sofa area near the kitchen is a bit too small and the whole area may feel a bit too cramped. I also feel that the walls that the pocket doors at the entrance to reception room may make the space feel too small and perhaps internal bifolds would work better? However, if these were taken out then where would we put the tv?? essentially I feel like this space could work a bit better. We are now through the consultation process with planning and don’t want to make any material changes, but would appreciate people’s input on internal configuration of that area and suggestions of furniture placement. I’m keen to have a sofa near to the kitchen area. thanks!

No. As we are only in the buffer zone of an SPA but we added one in after validation just to avoid potential risk delays if they asked for one

Inundated is a little strong. I had made several calls as I couldn’t get through and wanted to check with somebody that our application was being dealt with since that officer’s name had not been allocated to any other cases since. The architect was emailing to try to 1) add an ecology report to the application 2) talk about arranging the site visit 3) follow up a week later as there was no repsonse to either of the first 2 emails

Thanks all. Looks like we could be in it for the long haul! It does say that about 80% of non-major developments are decided with 8 weeks on the document @Alan Ambrosementioned for my LPA. we are still waiting on consultee responses form ecology and tree person. Does anyone know if their comments are still uploaded online if the case officer is away? Does the case officer have to physically approve them before them being publicly visible?

Hi there Planning for a self build was validated on 4th December and in that time my architect and I have sent several emails to the assigned case officer and made lots of unanswered phone calls. Today, I eventually got through to someone that told me the officer has been off, but couldnt tell me how long for. I noticed that this officer has not had any cases assigned to them or made any decisions since early December. Can anyone tell me if there’s anything I can feasibly do in this situation? Is there a way of requesting another case officer? It would be particularly useful to hear from some one who has done this or has worked in planning, but any input very welcome!

Hi there I actually have 2 questions that are connected, but I’m not sure I’m posting in the right part of the forum! we are currently going through planning to build a 150sqm 1.5 storey house in our current back garden (to live in and sell main house). We chose our current architect as he is knows the LPA and it’s an incredibly tricky site to design for (overlooking, overshadowing, RPAs etc etc). We have been incredibly impressed with him so far and have no doubt we made the right decision on an architect. However, he is incredibly expensive. We haven’t minded paying for up to planning as he is clearly worth the money. however, we are now looking beyond planning (possibly prematurely of course) and thinking about actually building it! On the architects fee proposal has construction drawings and BC drawings as next RIBA stage after planning with a cost of 12k +vat. We have spoken to some TF companies who said they can do the BC drawings for 2k ish. My question is do we really need construction drawings? We are planning on using a MC to project manage the whole thing and TF company to supply and erect (possibly MBC to do foundation and windows too). Would construction drawings mean more accurate quotes from builders? could we just use a QS instead in terms of estimating? can we go somewhere cheaper for construction drawings? will the TF company’s BC drawings be sufficient for all BC requirements? I know that’s a lot! Just trying to get my head round it all.