ToughButterCup

Local politics and more especially very local micropolitics really does matter. Our immediate neighbour got the micropolitics of things so deeply wrong that he is now facing his second Enforcement Appeal in the hallowed presence of an HM Inspector . (Very nice man / lady) Here's chapter and verse. I'll be writing it up in due course

My other half is a little photophobic: she can't stand glare. The light from surface-mounted LEDs almost always cause her slight physical pain. So all our LEDS are recessed about 30mm. There is no more a 'cone' of light with those as with surface mounts: but there is absolutely no glare. In terms of lumen output, I'm not sure if there's a difference between recessed or surface mounted lights. We worked on 5000 lumen in the kitchen and office, a good deal less elsewhere.

and and There is a difference - illustrated above - between Material and Non-material Considerations in relation to Planning Applications. But I think, since we're human, we take more notice of simple (simplistic?) human comment. Our build has taught me - Unless asked : I feel another thread coming on

One of the most common posts from new members focuses on peoples opinion : what do others think of what we want to build? The answer is derived almost exclusively from the opinions a series of people all of whom - one way or another - visit the site of your proposed build. They either have a statutory duty to attend your site, or are interested locals, some deliver stuff, yet others simply stop and chew the fat. Not all are sympathetic - and decide one way or another to let you know how they feel. In person, or by anonymous comment in the Planning Process. So I thought I'd give an overview of our experience. Reading many of the other posts, it seems that our experience is remarkably similar to most. The Councillors We've been 'at it' now for about 8 years now. There's nowt like a house-build it seems for turning otherwise normal folk into Nosey Parkers. We live on a one lane road - it's also an official cycle track, so loads of folk drive, walk shuffle or ride by most days. I wrote a few years ago about passers-by: the white van driver, forearm on the steering wheel, driving as slowly as he could - chin straining to get low enough to see as much of the site and house as possible; the little boy wondering aloud to his mum whether it was Darth Vader behind the shield while I was welding the container roof; the retired doddery old builder walking past slowly, wife proudly on one arm - his broad wink and grin always makes me smile. In twenty or more years I've never spoken to him. Ever. But what about those who make the effort to stop and chat, or - as some have - sneer? Visits to the site by others begin before Planning Permission is given. And make no mistake, those before Planning Permission visits tend to be high-stakes. We lived next to our site: lucky in some ways, others not . Read on. The doorbell goes and the unmistakeable profile of the Chair of The Parish Council peers through the faux glass whorls in the door. "Just passing " was the introductory lie. He had the grace faintly to wince when he heard himself say that. His real agenda was to protest at the design we wanted. Sharp Scandi, clad to look like the old local barns which litter the countryside here. In a previous life, I used to run Conflict Resolution Courses but - when it comes to my own conflicts…. managing the irritation flushing rapidly into my cheeks was difficult. The technique runs loosely like this …..Repeat the question, rephrased if helpful, show you understand the problem, offer some sympathy for the challenger's situation. Stuff that mate. This is my place, my house my build my… my… my …. And up yours if you don't like it. It is very lucky that I am married to a consummate diplomat. Lucky also for me that a local builder had - using PD rights - just erected a wooden barn within sight of our build. (see image below) I swivelled on my heel and waved my hand in the direction of his beautifully clad barn 50 meters away. Same size as our proposed house. I swear the Parish Councillor nearly swallowed his tongue. I couldn't resist it: "You mean you don't like that either ?" Further waffle only dug him into a deeper hole, and instead of being kind, I continued "Our current chocolate box house is built of stone isn't it?" Nods sagely. "And we are proposing a timber build, but you want ours built in stone." More sage nods. "How long Councillor, does it take to create stone? A few million years? And how long does it take to create wood? " "Well we (the Parish Council) are all agreed you should be building in stone" came the -now- tart response. "Our whole design philosophy focusses on sustainability. I'll use the material that only needs a few hundred years to reproduce over a material which takes a few million to recycle itself anytime." Managing the local politics of a potential newbuild is a nightmare. At the time, I'd had not made time to think about how to manage this issue of the build. Learning fast though. We parted on the worst of terms. A significant error on my part. Other Councillors came and went. One even told us that our newbuild would spoil her Sunday morning run. Five years later, that same Councillor obtained Planning Permission for her own garden and built four executive houses on the land. At the same time, she had the effrontery to campaign for 'starter houses' in the area. At least , once she had sold the newbuilds and her own house, she had the decency to move out of the area. I'm looking forward to meeting her one day. Can't wait. And then last week : on another matter, I had the singular displeasure of a knock on the door from another hissy weasel of a Parish Councillor. One who had shared her ex-colleague's opinion: we should have built in stone. She wanted to tell me wonderfully our new house was blending in to the countryside : you can hardly see it from the canal-side. (see image below) Mountains sometimes do pole vault to Mohamed. Conclusion? Tolerate - but only just and for just long enough.

Fill yer boots......

Fence, paddling pond, geese?

Simple way of telling ...... Frosty morning: ice on the roof. Pools of melt-water on the roof when the rest of the roof is still frozen? Not OK.

Yes, Dave, I can see how one way of looking at things is the status of your VAT reclaim has nothing to do with any Supply and Fit company. All they need to know about is the status of the build in terms defined by the BCO.

The Problem: Does HMRC formally regard a building as Complete after a successful VAT reclaim? If HMRC does regard it as Complete, then a company engaged on Supply and Fit (after the successful reclaim) , cannot 0 rate the VAT But if it doesn't, then a company engaged on a Supply and Fit basis can work without charging VAT We've successfully reclaimed our VAT. Because VAT431NB (section 3) doesn't give any guidance on the matter, I rang the HMRC helpline. Their answer was that the question was one that should be answered by the supplier. I asked where the supplier should get their guidance on the matter. The answer was that guidance was to be found in Section 3 of VAT431NB. A slightly different way of asking the same question is; Does a newbuild have two Completion states - one defined by the HMRC, and another by BCOs ?

Yeah, but the thing is, can you get the damn thing back out once - in error - you've put it in.

Thats yer problem, right there sir. Trying to be fair, I don't have the cranial band-width to think through many of life's bigger problems. Designing, framing and fitting a pantry is more than enough to keep my mental gears whirring all day and part of the night. People like me rely on people like you @SteamyTea. So, to Infinity And Beyond, on behalf of a good few of us please......

I love it @MDC - hidden guttering? How and to what extent does the proposed cladding 'mirror' / copy /echo local cladding ?

Way back when, I bought the 2018 version, and with it the licence to use the online version. £80 odd I think.... I liked it because there was a phase in the build when Price-BullScheiẞe reigned, and I needed lots of stuff which I knew less than nothing about. As a general indication , it was just what I needed. Many folk seemed to think that I had spent too much on a less than accurate text: for me it was more than worth owning because I didn't take their numbers as the definitive. The ability to search the database quickly online was very instructive. For example, I had no idea the MoT3 existed until I bumped into it online. No idea what it was, but SPONS had (has?) a good dozen entries about MoT3. The context of the entry was very informative. To balance those who did not spare their criticism of my purchase, a good few BHubbers PM'ed me privately for a 'quote' Here's what I've written about the subject

Here's further reading on the nitty gritty of Planning Law as it affects wind turbines by Martin Goodhall.

Exactly the compromise we worked out - plus in our case making the front flat-roofed, in the process losing at least one room. Keeping our eye on the prize - permission or not - was quite difficult when it got to that stage in the discussions. It was also critical to point out that our cladding would, over time, go silvery grey, just like many local barns. We used what has become contraband: Siberian Larch.

You can be as emotional as you like. But not letting that emotion be be communicated to others : thats the hardest trick. And especially hard to prune emotionally loaded phrases from passages of text. So much money time and effort is involved. It's very hard work.

This thread... It's doing me good because I thought I was the only idiot not to have installed enough sockets. She who must be obeyed works occasionally in Ghana. I'm waiting for her to go there for a week or two to so that I can install extra sockets. If I'm clever about it she won't even notice when she gets back

Your problem was exactly the one I had a few years back. The short answer is : you can nudge, cajole, hint , suggest - but educate - I suspect thats a step too far with a planner. Look at this image The cottages further down our lane are often called 'a chocolate-box row of cottages' . And we go and plonk a passivhaus 'monstrosity' on the same lane. I'm not known for cutting a long story short, but I'm going to have to. Because you'd die of boredom reading about the ticklish, delicate fussing we needed to do to get the planner to agree. Loads of compromise, lots of patience, many many sleepless nights. And a friggin' brilliant diplomat of an architect. The house has weathered now to a silvery grey - the image shows new wooden cladding. Now, all grey and silver, it looks like a barn conversion - Thats what sold it to the planner. Something new (our house) taking a lesson from what's already there .... farms with solid wooden clad barns; over the years they fade to silvery grey. Compromise, patience, subtle flattery, listening. And nerve. The chair of the council dropped in to our place the other day (about our neighbour who is testing HM Inspectorate a bit) . Originally, she had objected strongly to our proposal...... Looking round she said "I see what you were on about now : it fades into the countryside doesn't it " As ever, Ian puts it well,

A few hours research on your LPAs website will likely tell you the answer. My fingertips tell me : No, you can't build on land with that designation.

I mustn't raise false hopes: but I wish I had a quid for every time I've heard or read that. Given the pre-app advice, you've got little to worry about. Someone somewhere has an axe to grind, and they're doing it because they can do so but hide from scrutiny. That said, a great deal depends on the micropolitics of the Planning Department . Have a read of this .... The second paragraph bears committing to memory Vintage Martin Goodhall. Shame he's retired now. I'm not saying that this is - for sure - happening in your case, but what I am saying is that the planning system is so unprofessionally run that there's always a significant element of chance in any application. Here is one of his gems: 30 minutes fire-side reading for all who want to submit a planning application. Top advice from @Dave Jones , but read it in context of what Martin Goodhall says above: beware micropolitics

The Planning Application process is jangling for anyone. You are in good supportive company here. Most Planning Committees do as they are told by the Officers (Planners) - because to do otherwise would mean committee members doing lots more work on the cases before them. So if - and its by no means certain - that the members of the Committee have read a copy of that recommended Approval, then the Committee could well approve your application. Do you know who and / or why your application has been called in? Know the answer to that issue and you have the beginnings of a defence of your application. Ring the Planner who mis dealing with your application and ask - directly - why your application has been called in.

I know, lets all do a comparative table: get our respective OHs to perform, send the results to @SteamyTea - who would anonymise the results , work his Excel Magic and then publish them.

"Right sweetheart, tell me when ..... 'cos I need to put my ear to the pipe: oh and don't forget to tell me how big it was "

Here is an excellent resource for you to read by Martin Goodhall. Unfortunately he has just retired. Scroll down the left hand side and you'll see links to the series on Barn Conversions. He has a very readable written style - laced with the odd flash of wry humour.

Your post illustrates a simple truism: as valid for self-builders as everyone else. Cost, Quality, Time. You can have any two. But not three. Its called the Scope Triangle Do it yourself and learn to enjoy doing it yourself.