canalsiderenovation

Do you both have electric sewage treatment plants?

I'd read something about non electric sewage treatment plants, I think it was Clearfox but that they were v.expensibe.

Just another area I'm researching... I'm pretty ignorant to this, but when purchased the bungalow we had a drainage inspection which is an old brick one and "the septic tank is a single chamber with an approximate working capacity of 5m3. This size of septic tank is sufficient for the dwelling, but we are concerned about the depth of the septic tank. This septic tank is most unusual in that it has a working depth of only 0.5m. We are concerned that the shallow depth will restrict settlement of the suspended solids prior to discharge to the drainage field". Issues were also raised with blockages in the draining field and the foul drain which subsided/partially blocked. Prior to us purchasing last Easter the septic tank was emptied (vendor had never had it emptied to the sellers knowledge though it was a probate sale - if that's right it hadn't been emptied in 40 odd years)! Given our plans to extend up and our pending the ecologists/pp in progress we know we will need to sort this out as the septic tank will not be sufficient... What I'm confused about is the pros/cons of septic tank/sewage treatment plant. Can anyone share their opinion of each ...? Thanks

No, they never said it wouldn't it was a maybe, but to put in for planning and to see what they say. They'd already taken all photos of the inside of buildings lofts and submitted them and didn't want to say to have any surveys costing us £ if we didn't actually need them. These are local architects familiar with the local authority and planning officers do we trust their advice. Plans for a building with an inside swimming pool for a house less than a 5minute walk away close to the canal our architects did plans for didn't need an ecology survey!

Yes, you seem to have hit the nail on the head, along with the fact we have trees, ivy and water!

Thanks for this, need to check fully tj places he has mentioned.

The gaps under the soffits had a rag and brick stuffed in them either end since last year but he was able to take it out and push his camera on a wire through it to find the evidence of birds nesting from last year. The eaves of the roof - I've since looked and can't see any gaps on the eaves so they must be small. Unless bats have the ability to squash themselves into insect size I'm at a loss to see how this could be potential roosting area but will be properly looking at the areas he mentioned again....

We now have further clarification: The costs will be £430.00 + VAT, which is for three surveyors, and the time for analysis of the calls and writing of the report of the findings. I have spoken to my colleague and he is willing to take over as principal, meaning travel will be for the round trip which will be 44 miles at £0.55 for a total of £24.20, you will only be charged for one set of travel costs on any given survey, even if we end up coming from different areas for the survey. The potential roost features identified were gaps above the soffits and under the eaves of the roof on the east face of the southern half and on the western face of the northern half, and a gap in the mortar leading under the ridge tiles on the southern gable end of the northern roof. Evidence of birds was found in the gap between the soffit and tiles on the northern roof, but this does not preclude the use by bats in other gaps. However, as there was no direct evidence of bats found, and few potential roost features found, the bungalow counts as having low potential for bats, so unless we see evidence of roosting bats on the precautionary survey we will not need to do any more surveys. Having three surveyors means that all aspects of the building will be visible throughout the survey, so we won’t risk the county ecologist coming back to us questioning the findings of the survey. Hopefully this will be the end of it. Roll on end of May then.

Thank you I'll try there.

So, next stage bat survey. I'd asked for a quote and here it is. In the email the ecologist said this: Please find the quote for the precautionary bat survey attached. I have kept the references for “up to three bat activity surveys may be needed” just in case we do find a cheeky roosting bat, but I would hope that the costs would come downslightly in that case as we would be able to use fewer surveyors to focus on areas where evidence of roosting was found in the precautionary. Hopefully we will only need the one survey though. I'm finding the info a bit confusing so I've asked for clarity for the total price of this, including mileage based on my interpretation, e.g. are all the ecologists travelling together or not as three surveyors all in their own cars at 55p a mile will soon add up!! I think they mean 1 survey is £430 and we could need up to 3 surveys so potentially £1290 plus mileage each time they visit. At least once I have something more concrete I can shop around. As I said before they had no real evidence of roosting at all, the scratches on the fascias which were from birds nesting.....

We did so much work in preparation, so many trees have been cut, ivy pulled up and removed, and the out outbuildings are cleaner than some houses. We no longer have the pond either..... I guess my worry is of course there are bats around the area, they definitely aren't nesting in our house or outbuildings (outbuildings have a flat roof) but it is still a worry!

They've got us as point D which could be birds (moss, twigs etc on pic he took) could also potentially be a habitat for bats too, and there were scratches on the wooden fascias which COULD also be bats or it COULD be birds! Lots of could be's and potentials...

Ecologist came today. A) No newts B) Recommending some temporary fencing is put up on grass adjacent to canal to stop any little creatures like water voles venturing out whilst building work takes place and getting lost/trapped in building work C) Standard lighting stuff applies (the irony when there is three great big floodlights already on the bungalow that light up everything) D) Evidence of birds nesting in fascias as underneath is hollow one end to other (knew this as we saw them using it last year but blocked it up end of last year with an old rag but he had one of those small camera things so took it out and removed rag and looked inside as there was moss etc inside). So need to leave this now til September just incase anything is nesting (there isn't as it's been blocked up)! and then do work after September or block it up with proper wood/nails to ensure nothing gets in it before we start building next year.... These aren't birds that the ecologist is bothered by, his words "probably just sparrows, blue tits etc". I know this is right as we watched them last year nesting there and there were little baby birds too but they are long gone. And the final annoying point: C) No presence of bats in loft, sheds etc, no evidence. HOWEVER, as our site is an ideal place and there could be bats we need to have them back (or someone back) mid May to do the whole look around dusk for bats and where they could be nesting as point D could be potential habitat for bats!!!! And there will be three people needed, one ecologist to look at the left hand side of the house, one for the right hand side and one to look at the front near the fascias that have a hole either side (that isn't a hole as it's had rags stuffed in either end since December)! If it wasn't so expensive I'd feel like making a joke about how many ecologists it takes to find a bat . . . . ? So first £400 plus vat spent and awaiting full report plus quotes for additional reports...

We have spoken to our architects who have been in touch with the Planning Officer, indeed they want the Phase 1 initial survey so that's where we are. Our architects do know someone locally and we reviewed a couple of the ecologist reports they did, one just round the corner for a swimming pool who got away with an initial assessment so we are happy to go with her. Our architects did say we could do our own research if we wanted but in their experience they have used her a fair bit and think she is good, and good for us. To be honest we'd just be doing our own research so would just be going off prices so perhaps local knowledge and advice pay pay off in the long run. That is another £375.... If we have to have Phase 2 I think that's another £860.

Its one of the consultees making a comment, not that we have been asked by the planning officer ..... Interesting. I'll chase this up.

I thought I'd post a general update. We had visits from producers and they wanted to proceed, however we were told in essence we would need to 'sack' our 'architects' who are actually architectural designers/technicians because they aren't RIBA qualified. Whilst the TV programme would pay for new architects this didn't sit right with us. They couldn't tell us who they would pick other than it being a great first class company from Manchester or Liverpool, and we just didn't feel this would work for us (as well as the fact we would have had a bill anyway for plans being drawn already)! Our local ones we picked after having lots of architects, architectural designers and technicians round, both local and national and the RIBA ones were the ones we felt completely disillusioned with. Nothing against RIBA but the architects we had with RIBA qualifications just seemed to have their own agenda and didn't actually demonstrate much listening and were significantly more expensive too. The couple we have currently live less than a mile away and we have worked together since September to get where we are, they know planners, have met with councillors for us, local builders/tradesmen and one was a year off her RIBA qualification when the owner of the firm passed away suddenly and the other is more on structural design. More than anything we just didn't want to sack them when C4 admitted the plans were great, it was just the lack of RIBA qualification! Combine that with my long list of questions about timescales and what if's, I think they were worried and we were worried we were almost being set up to fail from the outset, already being under pressure with unrealistic goals for filming so we kind of all came to an agreement not to proceed. We may not get the heavily discounted items but we will get something on our terms and hopefully that we can control not being under pressure. Good job really as the news about this ecologists survey now is going to cost a bit and probably delay things...

Its so annoying. So far we have had to have a Heritage Assessment, 33 pages of rubbish, luckily one of our two architectural designers is qualified in conservation and was able to put something together quite quickly based on local historical knowledge of the area. As yet the Canal and River Trust are yet to comment as part of the 'consultation' and they are another one who we are expecting issues off. Its a good job mentally we had resided ourselves to the fact we would be unlikely to start the build this year (mainly due to any good local builders being booked up already for summer). At this rate I'll be pleased if we start next Spring.

FFS, not what we wanted to hear. No idea how much that is all going to cost. I guess we need to start researching and getting prices. No doubt our architects will know someone but I'll also contact the council and find out more details. I don't know if they are saying we will need all those phases or if they just want the initial ones .... Thank god we went a bit gung-ho with the chainsaw recently and cut down lots of trees that has the potential to be problematic.

We've applied for full planning permission. As part of pre-planning advice we had to have a heritage statement and design statement submitted with planning permission even though we are not in a conservation area, but are adjacent to the canal because of the canal bridge. Despite the farm past us being accessed via the canal bridge they were concerned re weight (despite tankers, tractors and farm machinery using it daily) . . . And now, just logged on and along with the favourable comments from neighbours, there is this added under 'consultants' comments, now in preplanning they mentioned the flying vampire critters but we submitted pictures and our architects were confident that that would be it. So what the hell does all this mean: SC Ecologist Comment Date: Wed 06 Mar 2019 Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA)<br/><br/>A planning application on this site must be accompanied by an Ecological Impact Assessment of the land in and surrounding the proposed development and a discussion of any potential impacts resulting from the development. <br/><br/>An Ecological Impact Assessment should consist of:<br/>' Extended Phase 1 habitat survey, habitat map and target notes on any significant biodiversity or geological features including species, habitats, designated wildlife or geological sites and the Shropshire Environmental Network.<br/>' A desk study of historical species records and local, regional or national wildlife designated sites.<br/>' Supplementary detailed surveys (phase 2 habitat surveys, protected or priority species or geological features as appropriate to the site).<br/>' Evaluation of the importance of biodiversity or geological features present at a local, regional, national, international level.<br/>' Analysis of the direct and indirect impacts of the development (during construction, working area, additional infrastructure and post construction).<br/>' Any losses or gains to priority habitats or the Environmental Network should be stated (hectares).<br/>' Proposed avoidance, mitigation or compensation measures, including method statements where appropriate.<br/>' Legal implications such as the need for European Protected Species Mitigation Licences or other licences (e.g. badgers) and details on how the favourable conservation status of populations of protected species will be maintained.<br/>' Proposed biodiversity or geodiversity enhancement measures.<br/><br/>The Ecological Impact Assessment should be carried out by a suitably qualified and experienced ecologist with the relevant protected species licenses. The Ecological Impact Assessment should be submitted to the Local Planning Authority prior to a planning decision being made.<br/><br/>Finding an ecological consultant<br/><br/>A list of ecological consultants who work in Shropshire is available on request. This list is by no means exhaustive and contains information on other ways of finding a consultant. Shropshire Council cannot recommend any consultant or guarantee their work. <br/><br/>You should always check that the ecologist you select has the relevant protected species survey licences issued by Natural England. Without a valid survey licence, the report provided by an ecologist may not be considered adequate by the Local Planning Authority.<br/><br/>It is always wise to seek several quotes since prices can vary.<br/><br/>I am happy to be contacted by the appointed ecologist to discuss the application prior to survey work being carried out if that is helpful.<br/><br/><br/>Please contact me, or one of the other Ecology team members, if you have any queries on the above.

I'm going to have to revisit an Internorm showroom and really look into the profiles again, we have a few options, one close to Market Drayton, one on the Wirral and one in Staffordshire..... I wish I'd taken pictures now when I went to the showroom and the build-it show at the weekend... We wouldn't have curtains at all on the windows.

Any pics would be great thank you. Luckily those with blinds would be in the front and those without would be in the rear and none mixed and matched in the same room. I guess I'm just curious if you can mix studio with home pure and if this is noticeable from outside. Upstairs isn't an issue as we have all skylights....

We really like the slim profile of the KF200 or even KF500 studio but for the front of the house where the living room/kitchen/dining room looks onto the canal and is a suntrap we want integrated blinds, and our budget won't stretch to having integrated blinds on all windows. I don't particularly like black bit on the glazing of the KV440 but the KV350 only comes in home pure and ambience, not studio. So can you mix the KF220/500 Studio with the KV350 Home Pure/Ambiance - will you be able to tell the difference?

We were looking at Accoya which was far more expensive! On the plus the plastisol corrugated sheeting is quite reasonable and this is just for under the balcony and porch thank god, I couldn't do a whole house in it at those prices.... That said we still have the render on the lower half which isn't exactly cheap either, but we will look at alternatives to K-rend etc.

If I've got it right the Trepsa was around £80m2 (that's the top one in the pic and the oak effect) the wood on the bottom is the Rockpanel in beech and that was £65 m2. This is just prices from the two companies which sent samples, as we need to come up with some material ideas to submit with planning. I'm just trying to get firm information on warranty/guarantee for both to do a better comparison....

The corrugated stuff isn't shiny, it's my camera flash on the phone, Its matt not glossy and plastisol pvc coated from https://www.excelclad.co.uk/excelclad-corrugated-143-169-p.asp You're as bad as me with samples, it's been in the snow this week, left outside in ice too.