Big Jimbo

Afternoon all. A quick re-cap. Bought a bungalow, 1/2 acre plot, in the Green belt. Managed to get permission to extend it to about 6 times it's original size. Felt that for the good of mankind i might be better seeing if i could get 2 houses instead of 1 large house. Chucked in a quickly put together application for 2 houses on the plot, which was refused. Sat down and put my 1 worn out braincell into gear. I then undertook a site study, Footprint, Mass, Bulk, Previous developement on the site, Sightlines, sight width, Site area coverage, sustainability of the site, and a design strategy. Basically 32 A4 pages showing all the studies and conclusions. I think it is very comprehensive. I then sent this in to the planners as an application, and included drawings etc, for 2 houses. Now i know that the planning officer is overworked, however, he is Mr negative in a big way, and although i do believe that i have clearly shown, that my proposal for 2 houses, in place of the 1 large house is less detrimental to the Green belt, i will be amazed if it goes through. I am fully prepared to take it to appeal, and think i would stand a 75% chance of winning. The question i have is, as i only have 1 week to go on my 8 weeks for the planner to determine my application, shall i rattle his chain ??? If i don't then without doubt it will run over time, and i will be able to put it in for appeal for non determination. Do you think that the planning inspectorate would take a dim view of the application not being determined by the council within the time limit, and could this work in my favour....... ie, application not determined, rather than refused ??? Your thoughts Regards Jimbo

Nice bit of stonework Redoctober

I would go with his decking idea as i think it won't do any harm. Also think about sloping the decking slightly away from the building, as any driving rain coming in under the canopy will be directed away. Woul'nt have thought you would need any above the ground Screws but you could always dip your posts in moulten Bitch if you were worried.

Whoo Hooo. Looking good

The Crazy Bear is nice. Did you know it was a knocking shop. although as its a posh knocking shop i bet it is expensive. Champers is £100 + a bottle

When i needed an EPC on my daughter house, when i was doing a large extention. I phoned an old developer pal to see if he could give me a clue who to use. He said use my bloke, and gave me his number. The guy asked me what result i wanted. Said that very few people would have a clue what the data ment ! Told him what rating i wanted, and he sent it in the post.... Airtest man on the last new build i did for a client. Turned up and asked me what result i wanted !!!! said that they can fiddle the software to get whatever result i wanted. I think to be convinced, i would want to see actual running cost bills. My cousin was involved in writing the software that is used all around the world for National Lotteries. I asked him if they had put in any back doors to enable a winning ticket to be produced after the draw. He said they had, and that it would take 4 people to be logged in as the draw takes place to enable a winning ticket to be produced.. Show me a Gas, and an electric bill any day.

I think that younger people are so pleased to find somewhere that they can afford to buy, or rent, that they don't care what the EPC says. Rich people don't seem to give a toss either. I think the idea of the EPC is a good one, but i just don't work.

I used to design and build high end kitchens for posh new houses. I used to take photos of the installed products on whatever camera was on my phone, and then select a couple to put on my website. They never looked as good in the photos, as they did in the flesh. Getting them photographed by a professional made such a difference. They know about angles, lighting, and about composition. It is a skill like a lot of things in life. I did however have one of my phone photos used as a magazine front cover. When i used to present my designs to a developer, i always used to do Two designs. The first would be pratical, and the second would be the "wow" design. They always went for the wow. I always think that it is very hard to make things that are only made from a single material, look stunning, however, too many materials can look a mess. Good design is , in my opinion, not that hard. Good design that looks fantastic is much harder to achieve.

For £800 extra i would go for £ phase

Good luck. Fingers crossed. Mine is due on June 11th.....

Morning Peeps. I did explain previously that i had obtained permission to extend my tiny bungalow into a 3000sq ft and detatched garage. I went back into planning for 2 new houses instead, as although 2 would prob have less value than 1 large, i felt it was better for future generations etc, and having had to help my 3 daughters onto the property ladder, I wanted to do something better for the future. My application was refused for over developement..... I have now gone back in with a new scheme, and demonstrated that it is better / less harmful than my single large house... If anybody wants to take a look, and even better, give me a comment of support on the councils web site, that would be great. My planning officer is a bit of a wet, and is defo swayed by the amount of support something gets... Dacorum Council. Ref.4/00926/19/FUL. Not a bribe, but as a small thanks, any positive comments recieved will each get a £10 donation to the Dogs Trust. Ta much. Regards Jim

I did'nt think that you were allowed to KASPLOSH. I think your connection branch is going to have to go "Down, down, deeper and down" and join up with the existing at the bottom.

put your planning application number up, and what council it is, and i will happily take a look for you.

I'm a bit of a chancer, and so much cheaper than MOT

I love the old road scalpings. I have used them on my temp drive over to get to the road. They have really locked up, and during the heat last summer, seem to have all melted together. A contractor told me last year that you are not allowed to use them on new build properties, due to them potentally being a contaminated material. Ant idea if this is true, as i can get a bloody huge load for £200

I know what you are saying. My last application for 2 houses which was refused had a two page D&A. The problem i feel is that you have a certain level of expectation as to the abilities of the planning officer. If you leave out things that seem obvious to you, the planning officer just dont get it. In view of the last one, this time i have covered everything, so that if i dont get a grant, i can go straight to appeal without further work.

It's funny how so many companies make such a fuss, but the actual guys that come to do the work are happy with a cup of tea and a bit of cake.

Just another thought. As you have a solicitor they would photocopy you original docs, and certify them, as true copies of the original docs. If they charged you it would prop only be a few quid.

Nice to not have to have the external box anymore. Just something else to get wet, or bashed in the future.

Well done, fingers crossed. Dont forget to photocopy all your docs, and try and keep the originals. LR won't return any paperwork you send them. They are very slow, so a friendly once a week phone call to them to ask how it is going will be worth doing. Fingers crossed for you, and good luck with the sale. Keep on top of the agent. Those who shout loudest and all that.

I love that gate. If it could talk i think it would be saying, "You can break in here, but, if you are caught, and you will be caught, you will be taken to the underground lair, tortured, and you will never be seen again. Go on make my day."

I have done exactly that in the past, and find it works really well. One full bore isolator on the incomming 22mm, and individual full bore isolators on each out. Spent about an hour making it, and cost about £30

Waving your arms above your head, like you are swatting wasps, trying to hold the bloody stuff up. Add to that the shoulder ache at the end of the day. All good fun if you have a wierd sense of humor.

Made me just want to go down, and lend a hand. even if it was just lugging stuff around for someone for a day. So much better than the normal GD's. I stopped watching that a few years ago. Good luck to them all.

In my opinion you will have to apply for full planning permission. A house near me, Young couple and wife pregnant had exactly the same. They wanted to just carry on. Building Control told the planning dept and a stop notice was issued. They had to go back in for full planning, new application. They had no problem getting it, but had to wait the 8 weeks for the council to determine the application.