Susana

I did ask our LPA during a telephone conversation and they said there is no legal size for the rear garden space, it depends on the overall application. I do know the dropped kerb has to be at least 4.8m in depth and no obstacles within a meter either side. It definitely ticks all the boxes for the dropped kerb. I'm hoping as it would only be for 1 or 2 people depending on which route we take, that the rear garden will be sufficient. It's within walking distance to all amenities and open spaces which will hopefully be taken into account.

Wow thank you all so much for all your insight. I am going back to the drawing board now to work out a floor plan but the idea of a cloakroom downstairs and a shower room upstairs sounds like a plan, I could add a staircase in the hallway and make an understairs cloakroom maybe. So thank you Nickfromwales for this idea! I also need to figure out how much more the overall build cost will be as I assume it will be almost double. In answer to a previous posters question, the parking area will be about 35 square metres and the rear garden approximately 40 square meters. Both areas can be changed slightly if need be. If I put this new plan through to planning and they reject it, I assume I can re submit my previous plan of a one bed on the ground floor and hoping I won't have to pay for a new planning application fee and just an amendment to the drawing from my chosen architect.?

Hi, thanks for your reply. So do you know how I can work out the loft space? The lower level we have worked out to be 37-40 square metres if we look at floor space and build, as the roof would be a pitched roof how do I calculate the square metres in the loft? It would be velux windows, We may be able to add some extra space downstairs to make up the numbers to the 58 square metres as long as the loft area is enough. Sorry for all the questions but want to have it all clear before we proceed amd I’m not great at maths! Thank you

Hi, may I ask why this is the case? If I for example, purchased a one bedroom bungalow and then reconfigured the interior with building regs to make an extra room why would this not be then classed as a 2 bed bungalow? Or is it to do with the fact that it was a new build? Sorry just confused by this. Thank you

Thank you. We are still indecisive about the method of build as my partner is worried about infestations and durability on a timber frame. Probably unwarranted but hard to convince otherwise. We would choose the cheapest option and do as much of the work as we can ourselves. We are not yet retired so still have plenty of energy for our dream 😊 We have considered the annex option but I have been told that you need planning for this also? So we thought we would see if we can get planning for a separate dwelling and if all else fails we could then re-apply for the annex option. We don’t want to upset the neighbours as they are all so nice. Not sure how neighbours would feel about an air bnb though. 😏 hence the long term rental option.

Thank you. We are not looking to build and sell, we would only sell if our circumstances changed in the future. We wanted the extra space to offer a long term rental to maybe a couple. We would like to keep the bungalow in the family as we also have children so they could use it if their situation warranted help from us. We appreciate it’s the size of a postage stamp but if the plot allows a build this size then we feel it’s worth a try as opposed to an annex which we would not be able to rent out if we needed to. We can’t afford to buy a plot with planning as they sell for £250,000 around here plus the build. We already own the land so our expenses would just be for the build. Thank you for your help. Much appreciated. 😊

Thank you 🙏 The build would be in between 2 bungalows but they both have higher roof space. Do you think maybe a chalet bungalow could work? With just velux windows? Or if we build with the necessary height we could then later on apply for building regs to add a room in the loft with velux windows so no planning required? Or is this not allowed down the line if we had planning accepted for a one bed only? I suppose a chalet bungalow would give us more overall square metres to meet the 2 story 2 person situation?

Hi, I am fairly new to this forum and would appreciate some help please before I put planning through. We would like to build a small bungalow on a plot of land and was wondering if anyone knows how strict the councils are with regards the national Minimum space standards? We would ideally like a two bedroom bungalow but have been told that the bungalow would need to be 60 m² to meet the requirements for a one storey 2 bed. However ours will be closer to 40m² as this is all the land allows for due to it being a smaller size. Would it be more advisable to put planning in for a one bed and then in a couple of years, turn the large bedroom into two smaller rooms with building regulations? Obviously, we will have two bedrooms in the larger room now anyway, as it will be a large room and enough corridor to add its own entrance door, Would it be best for me to go down the two bedroom route as if they reject planning I then have somewhere to go with amended plans by then saying I will just have the one bedroom? Thank you 😊

Will do, thank you

Hi, if the price is similar, are there any negatives to timber frame as opposed to brick? Thanks

Hi thanks for all your replies! The plot we want to build on is about 125 square metres (this is just the plot and not our full garden) it would have a dropped kerb from the road 5mts in depth x 7metres wide. The rear garden is around 6metres depth x 7metres wide. The smallest size build is 37 square metres for a 1 bed 1 person bungalow but at this size we could easily fit a double room in there plus a bathroom and living room kitchen area. We thought about an annex but we would have to then apply for planning to rent it out, so would rather split the land so if we ever needed to sell we could. Our plan is to do a long term rental to a professional couple or maybe Airbnb as the location is good for both options with lots of amenities nearby and beach. Once we retire we could then have the option of moving into the smaller property and renting out the larger house or selling one of them if needs must as you never know what the future holds. We have children too so could be good if one of them goes through a rough patch etc.. The plot we have is a fair size and we wouldn’t want the huge work in the garden as we get older anyway and plenty of garden left for us after the build. Our initial plan was to buy a flat to rent out to subsidise our pension but we could never buy a one bed detached bungalow here for the price we would pay to build one on our land or even a one bed flat for that matter! I’m pleased you all say that brick and block is the cheapest option as that’s what we we prefer anyway. 👍

Hi! Newbie here and looking forward to reading through the site and any help will be fully appreciated. We own a corner plot and would like to split the land so we can build a 1 bed bungalow so we can rent it out long term to help with our retirement in the not so distant future! We are looking at a small 37 square meter build of only the shell as we would complete the rest ourselves. (Have done a loft and garage conversion previously so have some experience but not with a new build) We are on a tight budget but can fund about £70,000 cash towards the build but appreciate we may have to borrow if or when we run out of funds. Can anyone give me an idea if this is even possible with this amount? We are a bit old school and want brick built but need to get with the times to see if we can go down another route. I’ve heard of SIp or timber frame which we are open to, as long as, if we ever have to sell on, a buyer can obtain a mortgage for it. Which is the cheapest build method up to the shell? We are in the south east. Already have someone to do the drawings for planning, yet to put planning through so may not even be accepted! But asking now as planning asks for finishes etc so trying to work out if we are going for brick or timber. Are we doing the right thing getting drawings done before we decide on the method of build? Thanks and sorry in advance for all the questions.