Dicky

We have finally been granted planning permission after close to two years of trying, but we have conditions to discharge before we can commence. The main two are:- 1. Intrusive site investigation, being on a coal seem. This part is done and awaiting results. But number 2 has bamboozled my architect, my structural engineer and also building control. Which is this verification and method statement for gas protection measures for BS8485. We have had a quote in which was £1200 for a simple piece of paper telling me how it's to be installed by the groundworkers and another piece of paper stating that it meets the BS8485 requirement. Has anyone else come across this in their conditions or requirements? Thanks Rich

@PeterW sadly I haven't been in a house with MVHR, im unsure if there are actually any around where I live. I understand that's what an MVHR system does, just wondering if the price tag is worth it tho.

Thanks for the information @joe90. Was quite surprised with the MVHR stat about air quality. so an ASHP alone should do us well for heating and DHW without looking at solar thermal. I understand MVHR has nothing to do with heating water but that was my main concern. Not really sure now why the company I spoke to tried to usher me down the MVHR route when the hot water supply was my main concern.

@SteamyTea Just to allow fresh air in and to let the house breath a little. Even these winter months there's always a window or 2 open

@PeterW I understand it doesn't stop me from opening the windows, but That heat that can be recovered from kitchens and bathrooms and returned into the house, if a window or two are open (mainly during good weather) will still be lost. Am I right in saying I will need a good air tightness to the house for a MVHR system.

@ProDave thanks for the reply and advice. No I wouldn't say budget is pushing us one way or the other, was just unsure of really what we should do. A company I contacted regarding ASHP, UNF and possibly solar thermal, basically said they would dump solar thermal in favour for MVHR. Which I have very little knowledge of. Personally I'm not to fussed on MVHR system as I'm the kind of person that likes to have a window or 2 open so heat would be lost regardless. Solar thermal I thought would help with hot water demand but obviously the winter I knew it wouldn't help so much. If an ASHP can give us a decent hot water temperature and demand then I'd happily just stick with that and UNF. Was mainly looking to see what people experiences with ASHP systems were for DHW supply. @Bramco we do have solar pv on the garage at the site currently. I have considered battery but we will install at a later date

We are nearing determination date for our self build so I'm trying to get as much knowledge and information as possible so I know what route I'd like to take. We are definitely going down the ASHP/UFH route as we have no mains gas coming up the road to our house. But after speaking to some people, I've had mixed comments on ASHP systems, mostly regarding hot water and not reaching a decent temperature for baths/showers etc... What are other people's experiences with their ASHP systems and their hot water?? So with that this is the reason we may look at also installing a solar thermal system or a MVHR system. Any help and advice will be much appreciated Thanks

@AliG I think we have until November to reapply for free. I'd happily change the bay and stone but Im not happy with spending all that we are going to spend on it for it to look bland. The house is off any through road and is only used by industrial waste company as there is an industrial recycling yard further up the hill. What also angers me with the council and their basically "our way or the highway" stance on it, is that if we agree to remove bay and stone and build what they have asked they will also be looking to remove our PD rights which totally angers me.

@PeterStarck I'm not sure where we go from here tbh. I'm looking to contact the local councillor next week and see what I can do or if I can go to some sort of committee. I've not heard much good reports about the planning office for the county so not holding my breath.

Wow I didn't expect this much of a reply and help/advice and questions. Really appreciate you're input @Ferdinand @AliG. I've read through all of your points and do have more detail and Information. The bat report @Ferdinand The report we originally had done wasn't enough for them. So we went back to the bat people and they wrote up a mission statement and a method of how we are to tear down the house. I have been in contact with the NRW regarding this. They gave us an option to get a method statement and tear down method or have a full bat study done. The plans (design) When I had an onsite meeting to try and iron certain problems out, the case officer mentioned the gap at the side and she wanted it a big bigger, so we moved the house over a meter to the driveway and she was happy with that. She didn't like us having gable ends in the original plans so we placed half hipped roof instead and again she said they would consider it. The thing they are adamant on the most is the stone and frontal bay, which for me is what makes it feel like my house and not the council's house. I can see what you are saying @AliG that it doesn't add any beneficial room to the house and the council won't grant us permission unless it's gone. I left it on the plans to see if the two changes we made would suffice and the fact other houses around the area don't fit in with street scene yet got built. I have since read on the forum while searching that president stands for bog all with planning applications ?. @AliG with regards to the stairs I only noticed after plans had been finally submitted that they double back but they should have been changed to straight up and not a return. With regards to the ceiling heights that is something we can definitely look at and change. There are probably loads I've missed out to comment on. Sorry the reply comes across all over the place.

@joe90 no we didn't. I assume now we have gone to appeal the chance to go to committee is gone now is it?

@joe90 first picture is the house at the bottom of my street, probably been up about 8yrs. The 2nd house is a house on my mothers street about 2 minutes drive from me, not a single house looks like it on the street and as you can see from the rear, it's literally dwarfs everything around it, this got build at the start of 2019. And the case worker for this house is the one that dealt with mine ? ??‍♂️ and did I mention he's a local builder and owns a building firm ?

@AliG most of the new build will be render other than where we want the stone. They ain't bothered about the back end of the house and also have said that we can put stone on the garage front cause "it's down the back" as the woman put it. They said if we moved the house over and changed the roof to a half hipped instead of gable then the other parts may be ok. Her words were "don't give us all of the changes at once as it may keep her boss happy if we do one or two". Yet during a phone call with said boss, she hadn't sat down with the woman dealing with our planning to discuss changes and that our planning handler was the one requesting the changes. The communication level seemed nonexistent in the office from multiple phone calls I had with the boss.

@Randomiser ah I didn't think about that