Mulberry View

As we begin to consider design for our new self-build, I'm keen to learn what the current go-to is for heating/hot water etc. We've been dogged for years by a home that, whilst very beautiful, has a condensation problem and we're sick of it. So we want to ensure our new home is totally free of that. So, Ground Source/Air Source/Other? The plot is big, so I think that makes Ground Source a possibility? I guess this is best used with Underfloor heating? I like a simplistic look, so that would be my preference. I'm assuming an MVHR system will deal with the condensation side of things? Is that the gold standard? Does the MVHR system provide any meaningful heat to the home? What about the hot water? I'd like a system that finds a good medium between responsiveness and cost. In our current home, we have a hefty D-rated non-condensing boiler, which, whilst it delivers great hot water performance, does see us waiting upwards of a minute to get hot water to our bathroom basin and I'm sure it's probably answerable for out £100+ monthly gas bills over the Winter months. We were also early PV adopters, so we're on the mega tariff (circa 50p/kwh), which we'll of course be leaving behind when we sell our current home. I know PV is nowhere near as lucrative as it was back then, but is it still worth considering? As usual, your help is absolutely invaluable and appreciated as we get to grips with this...

That's an impressively sized project. Pales mine into relative insignificance. Good work and very reassuring.

Yes, we'd do that for sure. Thanks.

Excellent, that's what I wanted to hear. In the main. I did want to ask about the roots etc, but wanted to keep this thread more simple. What do you think it would take to remove the stump/roots of a Pine that tall? I anticipate we'll need what I recognise as a 'full size JCB' to clear the plot, could that do it?

Thanks for your input. Just one thing... Developer pays the fine sets the cost off against tax Could you please elaborate slightly on this one?

Yes. Luckily the good trees aren't as badly Ivy-ridden. There's a Lime, which is in great condition. A Maple of some sort next to it and a pretty/unusual Mulberry Tree along with a couple of Pines which are all in fairly good condition and mostly free of Ivy. There is also a lovely Hornbeam, which looks stunning when viewed from the non-overgrown side and giving it space to 'breathe' will result in a lovely addition to our planned garden. The absolute clincher is a pair of Pines, which have become completely engulfed in thick Ivy. There is no Pine foliage until the top 20% (max) of the trees overall height. These two probably stand in the only place we can carve a driveway. The other 2 that we've earmarked to go just present extra design challenge. They possibly don't de-rail the project altogether, but may stop us having the design flair/flexibility we'd like.

We've had a fantastic opportunity to purchase a building plot, it's part of a family property that we're subdividing. It's all informally agreed, but we're yet to formalise boundaries etc. It'll be approximately 60 metres by 27 metres, with a large access driveway, but with an agreement to only build one dwelling (which I'm fine with). The price reflects this and is still very viable. It's currently overgrown but has a number of trees of varying ages, conditions and heights. I've always craved mature trees as we tore them all out when we renovated our current property, not taking into account the fact that they'll not regrow in our lifetime. On the new plot, there are a lot of what I'll call non-important trees. Nobody will care what happens to them, or probably even ever know if they disappear. However, there are 4 trees that are significant to our planned development in terms of being right in the way. All are upwards of 80 feet and largely covered in Ivy. We're caught in a cache-22. There are no current TPO's, it's not in the Conservation area (just) and the trees we'd like to remove are being culled to help the nicer ones thrive. We could cut the trees down now (or soon), but don't want to annoy the LPA. I understand neighbours could claim they like the trees resulting in retrospective TPO's? I see this as unlikely, but it's a risk. Also, the cost to remove is significant and we, of course, don't have planning approval, so it could be money wasted. We filed a pre-planning application, in which the council asked for an Arboricultural Impact Assessment. I'm pretty sure this is to ensure best practise regarding the well-being of the retained trees, not to look to protect anything specifically. But if we instruct this assessment, the doomed trees will be on it and the LPA will be aware of them, might they choose to consider protecting them at this stage? Ideally, I'd like to leave them until after planning, saves annoying anybody, but I see a risk that someone might prevent them from coming down. Conversely, I suppose there is a possibility that the neighbours might appreciate the piece of land being tidied up, as long as their privacy is respected (and it will be) I'd appreciate any thoughts or opinions on this.

OK, I'll put together a topic now covering my current line of questions.... Thanks.

Yeah, I got the TPO thing luckily. In any other medium I'd be the spelling/grammar police, but I'll refrain on here. As for the TPO thing, there aren't any, but I do have questions... (to follow)

Just checking in, Hi all!! We're in the very early concept stages of what will be the building of our dream home. Only problem is, at the moment it's on a building plot that technically doesn't exist, is almost totally buried in trees, with no access and no planning permission. Wish us luck!! I'll post more details in the appropriate sections in the coming days as the questions begin popping into my head.