Big Jimbo

My plot is quite near an old brickworks, so i was always a bit concerned about clay content. I also have a lot of mature large trees. I have recently hooked up with my structural engineer, and i really clicked, and get on with him well. He came to visit my site, and we talked about the trees. He said that if i ripped out all the trees, he would still have to take them into account when designing my foundations. As it happens i will keep the trees, as it means that once you come onto site, it is not overlooked. The S.E said to get some soil samples, so i dug two rubble sack samples at 1500mm down and gave them 2 him to send off. The ground was so hard that my mini digger struggled, and the ground was very dry. (Large Trees) What came out at 1500mm deep was quite red, and felt quite granular, with some large, about the size of a brick, pieces of flint. The lab came back with 96% clay, and the S.E. has gone back to them and asked them to check there results. I must say i was surprised, as last year i did an extension at my daughters in Bletchley near Milton Keynes. I dug down 1200mm, and once i got below the top soil at about 300mm i was pulling out nothing but sticky toffee pure clay. Nothing else. You could have made pots out of it. Thats why i am so surprised at the results of mine. We shall have to wait and see, unless anybody has any pointers ?

At the moment i just have photo cells, and a flashing light. The motor is from Italy. (Actually made in italy) The company is called Oxygen. Its a 2000kg motor. The gate is bloody huge and heavy. I bought four wheels, and a track from Rolling centre, I am going to make a loop detector, and i plan on adding an edge contact strip. (Better not kill anybody) I'm a right tight sod, and my only mistake was getting a video door entry, with keypad, and rfids from China. £69...I got the Key unlock from inside to work, but can't get the rfids to work or the number pad. The video works great. Im rubbish with tecno, but the entry systems from brit companies were about a grand, so i though for £69 squid i'd give it a go.

That is going to be very cheap cladding with those figures. Nice job

Yeah, I made them. 8 ft wide each, then joined them with metalwork at the top and bottom. Too heavy to lift as 1 gate. So it is now 1gate 16ft wide. Made it sliding, and stuck a grands worth of c20 concrete in the ground to take the sliding track, and to act as a super strong crossover for big lorries etc. Bought the motor from Italy, and welded up the stop catches etc from scrap.

Couldn't be bothered to plaster, so when I finished plasterboarding, I got the Mrs to dry line it. She has now started painting.

So I made some gates. That should stop all the people walking passed having to watch me in my pants, scratching my bits, having a fag outdoors. I'm pleased with them 16ft wide.

So I fitted out a shower room to the posh shed. Nothing to fancy, but should be functional enough. Still got to fit a shower door.

No problems at all. Outdoor shower, for when you step out of the pool.

That can't be right. So you are saying that the Planning officer supported your application, but he, or she refused it because the P.C. has objected ? Using there delegated powers.

Jeremy, no offence was directly aimed at you either. Regardless, as i believe you will have seen. At some councils a valid objection received from a P.C. will cause an application to be taken out of the hands of a Qualified, and Paid planning officer, and put before a Full Planning committee. That, in my opinion, is a complete waste of money, and time. At my last P.C meeting they raised objections to 11 out of 12 applications. At the meeting before 14 out of 15 applications. All of those applications that were objected to will now have to go before a full planning committee. If we can't trust the trained planning officer to pick up on material considerations than we need a whole new set of planning officers. Perhaps we should swop them for Parish councillors. We have, in several councils, outside untrained people, who are taking the decision away from the trained planning officer. Regardless of who wrote the policy. That is wrong. In the case of my council, we may aswell do away with the planning officers, because the rate of objections received from the P.C. means we don't need them or there expertise. I state for the record, not all planning officers are tossers. (Just the one's i know) and not all Parish Councillors are muppets, or twats. ( Just the one's i know)

We all have a tendancy to kick off every now and then Jo90, and no offence to your wife was intended. Obviously, in your area, your wife, if she sits on the planning committee of the local Parish Council, gives her view, along with others on the committee, and they vote. which will conclude with a support, object etc. There comments, from what you say, will only be viewed with the same strength, as a neighbour who may have been consulted. I have got no problem with that fella. What i do object to is that untrained people sitting on a Parish Council, can by objecting, cause an application, to be taken effectively, out of the hands of a trained, and paid for planning officer, and cause it to have to go before a full planning committee where quite often, party politics will come into play. I don't like to admit that i sat on a Parish Council for 9 years. I left in the end, because i found so many of them thought that they were soooo important, If one of there pals wanted a bench in the villiage, we were all expected to ok it. The money that was received (Tax payers Money) was wasted, and the local small businesses, would be be-littled, and bullied to contribute to the crimbo lights. The P.C. would then switch them on to great hurrah despite not having contributed a single penny towards them.

So if you personally make an objection to a planning application, on a material consideration, you will be viewed as an objection. If the Parish Council make exactly the same objection, then it will trigger it being sent to the full planning committee, and mean that the trained, and qualified planning officer, will no longer be able to use his delegated powers, to decide the application. But instead will now have to write a report, and the application will now have to go before the full Planning Committee. So effectively, the Parish Council (Untrained Muppets) will have over-ridden the ability of the trained planning officer to make a decision.

No i ment Parish Councillors Jeremy, and the effect that they, as completly untrained people, can have on planning applications. The fault may indeed be with district councils, for having a policy that, Any planning application that receives an objection, then has to go before a full planning committee, and can no longer be decided by delegated powers.....Now i think the only person trying to twist things here is you..... You stated that an objection by a parish council, only carries as much weight as any neighbour objection, did you not ?

Perhaps they can have such a policy Ferd. What is annoying me is that Jeremy is stating that Parish councils have very little effect on planning applications, are are only considered in the same way as any other objection. regardless of who set up the policy.....If the result of a Parish Council objection is that a planning application has to then go before a full planning committee, then they are having a huge effect. Don't you think ?

Jeremy, i'm afraid you are up to your usual tricks.....Many district councils clearly state that a planning application received by them, that is objected to by the local Parish Council (Twats) can no longer be decided by Planning officer delegated powers, and that it has to go to District Council planning committee. Why can't you either acknowledge that you were wrong, or state why you are right. It's clearly stated on the Eden District Councils Web Site..... I took a photo of it for you fella.... Even great men make mistakes. Greater men admit to them.....

Eden district council is a local authority Jeremy.............They decide on planning apps for several areas

Jeremy, have you bothered to read what i posted ? Eden..... clearly says that a planning app will need to go to comittee if the P.C. object to it....What am i missing here ?

Harwell district council.... Another One for you Jeremy.......

Eden District Council.... On there website. Are they breaking the law then Jeremy?

You keep saying that Jeremy, and in the case of your local Parish Council that may be the case. However, in mine, and several other councils, an objection from the parish council, means that an application HAS to go to the planning committee. A total waste of time and money.....All because jumped up twats who sit on Parish Councils.....

Planning Officers, are all complete TOSSERS, as are local Twats who sit on Parish Councils, and think they are all powerful. If i could, i would make all Parish councils produce a neighbourhood plan if they want to have a say in planning. As far as voting on individual property matters, i would take the vote away from them. They have no training, and no idea.

Started a bit of plasterboarding in the posh shed

Could be worth talking to a couple of local smallish concrete firms. I have One near me, that will bring a few bods, pour and level.

Square in my opinion

Re the kitchen. I used to own and run a kitchen company. Design, supply, install etc. They were very high end. In frame, One off door designs. 30mm thick doors. Convex, concave doors. In all sorts of fab wood. The carcasses were always made from veneered ply, and basically they used to cost a fortune. Others will say different, but my tips would be.....Do not have oiled solid wood worktops. They are a pig to keep, and if not oiled regularly, will stain. If you have kids, think hard about having wood doors. The lacquer will be very thin, and sloppy, messy kids will ruin them after 7 or 8 years.