KimB

Because that is the cost we had quoted £1000 for the tree survey, we have just completed an Ecology survey that came in at £1700, and so far £3000 with the English Heritage and another £3500 to go with them!!!! The piles are a must so we are told as on heritage land and was flood zone!! We couldn't have picked a more expensive piece of land!

Thank you for your comments. We have done pre planning and they did request a tree survey to be completed. I think I know the answer but trying to find another £1000 for a tree survey hurts!!!! eekkkkkk

We are 18 months in and finally about to submit our planning application for a four bedroom house in Chertsey, we have battled through with the EA and English Heritage. Finally data produced from EA has taken us out the flooding zone, however we still need to have the house slightly raised, we are using plies for the foundation. We have literally run out of money to have to complete any more reports as its taken us almost £12,000 and we have another £3,000 to find to complete borehole survey to apease the English Heritage to get us through the final stage for them. We are worried that our planning permission will be rejected by Runnymede council because we haven't had a tree survey completed, even though there are no trees on our site, and no protected tress within a 10 mile radius. However our understanding is that using piles we will not disturb any tree roots etc, I would like to present some evidence to the council with our planning pack on this and wondered if anyone had advice on using piles or could point me in the right direction on gathering some evidence on this? I would be very grateful for any advice.

Unbelievably we have now come out flood zone 3, so full steam ahead, our next battle is now English heritage. The site we are building on is land next to my parents house and once was on the land of an old Abbey so on the land is Ancient monuments and archaeological interest, my stepfather brought the land 30 years ago, which was 5 years after moving into their home, the land was just a moat/ditch that my parents had filled. They brought the land as a building plot (trying to locate the paperwork on this). There are two listed buildings in the vicinity of our the plot, but are approx 50 meters away. At the moment we have had quotes in of £5000 to complete a SAM statement and archaeological interest. Eeekkkk has anyone had any similar experience to guide us if this is fair price etc? Knowing that the land is 30 year soil that my parents had filled, it seems highly unlikely they will be finding much of interest but obviously this is a heritage site!

My architect has recommend we use this independent company for the FRA as he is getting no where with the EA. They are charging £1000 plus VAT to complete the report https://www.unda.co.uk/flood-risk-assessments/planning/ Anyone ever used them or heard about them?

Yes I had meant I knew there would be a large cost involved, as my parents neighbour has just done an extension this year and the English Heritage charged them £9000 to dig the foundations and excavate !!!!! We are factoring this cost into the build.... Annoyingly even though they are right next door, their land is not in flood zone 3, and their extension they've just done is probably the same square footing of what we are proposing to build. How that works, I don't honestly get it????!!!

nice... good one indeed!

Thanks, I can open this!! I'll take a look.

We are just in flood Zone 3, only have the land!!!! We haven't as yet commissioned a Flood risk assessmentyet. The architect we are using is only returning from holiday today, and has said we are on his priority list. Can we only use EA or can we use an independent company to do the flood assessment do you know?

Thank you for this info...interesting!! Unfortunately we didn't get a helpful lady on the phone, but good to hear your experience on this.

We have been told we are not allowed to build up (stilts etc) as not in keeping with the rest of the houses on the road.

Oh no....sorry to hear that!

Thank you, and thank you for advice on hydrologist. I'm in Chertsey in Surrey, under Runnymead Council.

We are just in the pre planning process stage for building a new build chalet style bungalow on some land at my parents. We knew it might be tricky as knew when we investigated that the land in question in on archeological land, plus half in flood zone 3, at the other bit in no flood zone. The land has never been flooded in over thirty years of my parents living there. We have had one planning meeting in which we were told by planning officers that we would categorically be refused planning unless we sought the Environmental Agency to come out and access the land and complete tests to to be able to proceed. We have assigned a Architect and he seems fairly hopeful about this build. With the EA fees to do this coming in at £100 a hour, we wanted to seek any advice if someone has done this and succeeded with building a new build (not an extension) on flood zone 3? The archeological side of things we aren't to worried on as we know the English Heritage with want to oversee the foundations. Any advice if anyone been through a similar build, was it successful? Floodzone.pdf