Archer

Hello all. Does anyone have any experience with the 45 degree rule in planning? Basically we are seeking permission for a single storey, 3 m x 4m kitchen extension. There is no daylight or sunlight issues because our neighbour (who doesn't object to our proposals) is directly to the south of our property. Imagine a terrace of houses, but ours is actually a flat hence not covered under permitted development rights and we are planning to build right up to the boundary. The planner wants to fail the application for not complying with the 45 degree rule - we are fine in the vertical plane but not in the horizontal. The offending window has no loss of daylight and basically stops development unless we can make a case... A quick search online seems to think that the 45 degree rule is outdated and more sophistication should be applied through BRE 209 Site Layout Planning for Daylight & Sunlight. We'd like to avoid employing a daylight consultant if possible because funds are already. tight. Any other ideas?

Really interesting stuff. I'm a bit late with this, but out of interest why did you go for an inner and outer skin of 100mm porotherm with insulation in between? My understanding is that you can get pre-insulated 365mm blocks which perform as a modern solid wall construction. I guess this was just based on the SE's recommendation was it?

Ferdinand, this is incredibly helpful advice - thank you for taking the time to lay it out in such detail. I've had a scan through the links and as you say the FAQ on consent is very relevant to our situation. By chance we spoke to the leasehold advisory service today. You have to book a 15 minute slot online and they book out fast so we had been waiting a couple of weeks for advice. Interestingly, they gave similar advice to you - essentially that consent could be deemed an implied clause, even if not explicitly stated in the lease. The key points seem to be whether the external walls and gardens are included in the lease demise and also the general wording of the lease. Interpreting leases is obviously a very technical area and ours seems ambiguous even after a read through of all the relevant guidance. Luckily the leasehold advisory service will also review written documents and provide free advice in writing so we have duly sent our lease and plans off to them for a second opinion. The only drawback is a further 2 week delay - but obviously worth it if we can avoid or reduce a £5k premium. The next difficulty seems to be enforcing our rights, even if they do exist. Freeholders are in a strong position here, because building a case that consent is being unreasonably with-held will be almost as expensive as proceeding with the freehold purchase, once surveyor valuation and solicitors fees are taken into account. It's definitely a minefield, and one we could have done without, all else told. Our predicted cost for adding 12 m2 of space, a new kitchen and general refurbishment is now up around £70k... it's absolutely horrendous really. When I have a moment, I'll post in the extensions section as a cautionary tale for others. Anyway, I'm sure this is fascinating for everyone else on the Buildhub - it certainly has been a unique learning adventure for me! Looking forward to getting into some of the more practical construction challenges.

Thanks all (and good to see another Archer fan in the crowd as well!) Adding an extension to a leasehold flat has added a whole world of complexity that we wouldn't have otherwise had...planning permission for one and also for example we are looking at having to appoint up to 3 party wall surveyors in the worst case - for our neighbours on each boundary (who have been really supportive to date) and our freeholder. That's partly why SIPS appeal to us - because it would be good to get the extension up quickly and minimise disruption. We are also exploring using either ground screws, quickbase or easy pad foundations for the same reason though its not clear whether this is really going to work for us yet. As you can see, my head is rolling with this stuff, so thank you in advance for your advice and patience! Mike, exactly, we need freeholder consent because we are leaseholders. Usually there will be a clause in the lease stating that this should not be "unreasonably withheld". Unfortunately ours doesn't have this so the freeholder can charge what they wish - in our case, a £5k premium for consent, with the alternative being to pursue the freehold purchase... One to watch out for anyone purchasing "doer upper" properties where you flippantly start re-arranging the plans off Rightmove in your head.

Hello all, I'm a long term lurker of E-build (RIP) and this forum - both depositories of excellent, practical advice. The initial plan was to self-build at Gravenhill in Oxfordshire but life got in the way of that one so now it's time to explore a different option. We are embarking on a single storey kitchen extension to our London maisonette. We've recently had a planning application submitted and hope to work through some of the (many) practical challenges - on the list is freehold consent; party wall issues; fire suppression and drainage... It'll be a relatively small project but hopefully our experiences can inform other who are considering similar projects in the future. I'll try and post some blog details up shortly as we get going on selecting a SIPS / garden room contractor.