LSB

We are planning on UFH with ASHP & Solar Panels and then just to be extra sure a backup oil boiler (no gas here). I thought we needed pumps because of the water pressure we require. We sometimes use our current tank emersion element if we need hot water quickly and don't want to wait for the boiler to do it. I'm not a plumber and have very little knowledge in this area so please be gentle with me. As we have pumps now (one per shower) to get the water pressure we need then I assumed that we will need one per shower in the build. We have very limited ridge height (thanks LPA) and it's not high anyway, hence no attic space. The roof is slightly sloped so the pipes will go in the highest bit, but all machine type things will be in the utility room.

Good Evening and Happy New Year My next question for estimation. Once I have listed everything that I think that we need and got my approximate estimate I shall send off, but right now I'm listing everything and pricing it myself, this is what covid does to you when you can't go to the pub. My single storey barn conversion has a flat roof so there will not be any form of header tank, there will be an emersion tank in the utility room. We will have 3 showers for which I need pumps. But, all the ones I look at say 'gravity fed', which sounds to me like they need a higher tank. These pipes will need to be horizontal, one at 2m, one at 12m and one at 25m, all from the DHW tank. It is very rare that multiple showers are used at the same time, but not impossible. I'm not worried about the hot water, we have 2 showers with pumps in the existing house and it has not been an issue waiting for hot water. My issue is that I don't know what type of pump I need. I know one of ours needed replacing recently, at about £200. The existing pumps are on the same level as the showers by the tank, but we do have a cold water header tank and I'm not sure if this makes any difference. Do I need the same as we have now. TIA Jill

thanks, not too far then.

what is that distance, I hadn't got that far

thanks for all your help, lots to think about.

So, the badly coloured yellow is the barn, the black is the garden. The rest of the red bit is slightly odd as adding that in would make an area of 375m2, so not for conversion. I guess the LPA can only do regular shapes ! The blue is the edge of our land, so one side of the barn is right on the perimeter, we have about 6' and we are not building right to the end as the existing wall on that side is 1m from the edge. That is the side where all the bathrooms and some of the bedrooms are because it is a steep bank into the next field, which is about 2m higher at that point, so not a lot of light and no view. The LPA has not told us where to have the garden, that is up to us, only what the maximum size is, but we need to be aware in the future of what land we will keep and what we will sell. Anything outside of the curtilage will stay as ag land so should not be used as garden. The view is from the L side of the barn.

this plan doesn't show all the post and rail fencing. I've just been talking to hubby about that, but we are stuck with agricultural land versus curtilage. the curtilage can only be the same size as the footprint of the dwelling plus the driveway, so anything to the right of the 'L' is a no go area. Of course, the chances of any of this causing a problem if we went ahead is very low, but I really don't want any risk of being told to move the tank and drains, costs enough the first time. The fence between track and field goes from the left of the L.

wish I could, but this is a barn conversion and we have to keep the walls, floor and roof ? this makes our options a lot more limited.

within the blue square, planning to place just above the the label saying track.

tanker can come up the drive, we will have a huge soakaway and then the final soak will be into our field, as happens now, it mustn't go to a watercourse. the original location was the opposite end of the barn which only have 4WD or tractor vehicle access. the barn is at the top of the slopes and it goes down all around. we own all the fields in the site plan and also some others. our house at the bottom goes to 4 tanks over the road and then into one of our fields.

didn't cause offence, just amusing the assumption that people this forum are the male of the species. I'm the planner, estimator, accountant, buyer etc whereas him indoors is the do-er. Jill

ok, the first picture is an extremely rough layout to show where the waste need to go to the tank. the barn is 25m x 16m and then another 30m ish to the tank. waste path.pdf then the site layout from the road 3 - Block and Site Location Plan.PDF the slope from the road to the barn is approx 120m long with a rise of about 4-5m. we are planning on putting the tank about 30m down the hill so an approx drop of 1m. sorry first printout only shows building.

I haven't submitted BC drawings yet, going to do that once the conditions have been discharged. I'll do a little diagram, by the way I'm 'she' not 'he' ?

our current pipe goes under the road and our old cesspit is on the opposite side to the house and drains into one of our fields ultimately. but, as we didn't install it, the house is 170 yrs old, so I don't know when it was put in. Potentially original I guess. but, hubby has to rod ours about once per month as it is no longer sloping under the road, but the cost to do anything is completely prohibitive. we can't use the same anyway for the barn thanks for the above.

It's come to our attention that we can't have our water treatment plant where we originally planning, something that wasn't noticed by anyone doing drawings. Anyway, it's because where we were going to place it there is no possibility of vehicle access to empty. So, we are now going to place it down the slope from the opposite end of the barn, but this will have to be on the far side of the driveway, which planning says we cannot move. What should we consider when placing pipes under where vehicles will go. Also, the waste will go along the back of the barn which is 25m, what drop should we be looking at. Our en-suite toilet is right at the end of the building so will the first point of access to the drains. The utility WC will be right at the other end, then we have about 30m from there to the treatment tank. We will be getting this all drawn up, but just wanted some thoughts from you experienced peeps.

welcome, such a pity you were not here a short while ago, I'm in East Suffolk and got planning last year and am just waiting for conditions to be discharged.

good luck and hope it progresses well, keep us up to date on what is happening.

I'm a parish councillor and our parish is not populated by Nimbys, the only applications that we disagree to are those that are in the flood plain or generally rubbish. And you are wrong, PC's cannot get an app to go to committee, if they object and there are other objections then that will go to committee or if the application is at all suspect then it will go. Also, it is only town councils that benefit from CIL, small parishes get nothing as it is very unusual for developers to get permission in small villages. There are regularly apps that we approve, but still get refused by the LPA, the reality is we only have an opinion the same as anyone else.

well no one can go anywhere at the moment so there's a project

It depends on where it is, we are a small parish in a rural area. Any planning application for extension / conversion / new build gets automatically sent to the relevant parish council by email. We (the parish council) then have 3 weeks to comment if we wish to. Validation is different, this is when the LPA accept the planning application is valid, i.e. it is paid for and it has the required paperwork. There is then an open consultation period when anyone can comment, and I mean anyone, I could comment on a planning app 300 miles away if I spotted it for some reason. Most comments are neighbours, highways, ecology, councils etc. In the last 6 months we've done 3 barn conversions and a block of stables / menage. Generally we don't bother with discharging of conditions or slight amendments etc. But, it is possible to comment anonymously by email, you can't do this on the planning portal unless you give a fake name / address. Any comments are posted on the planning portal as part of the application. Of course the LPA don't have to take any notice of the PC, but in some cases if the PC say no, but the LPA is minded to say yes then this triggers the application going to committee. But, this is in a rural area with lots of villages and only a couple of small towns. If you are in a more urban area then it may not be quite the same, I'm not sure as I've not lived in a city since 1987.

did the planning app go before the parish council, as all parish councillors are local they could probably understand if the map is wrong. if they yet have to look at it (they have 3 weeks) then ask to attend the meeting, as all public can do any time, and when they review the application you will be allowed to comment. If they can understand what you are saying then they must and will say something in their response. Unfortunately, not all parish councils look at planning apps. I am on our parish council and we look at every single one, but I know lots don't.

don't do anything unless you have to and then claim ignorance and go for retrospective. we have a strict height restriction in our plans so they might check ours, but if you haven't then unless to even be spotted

looks like hard work, particularly when they are not a regular shape

looks like it is coming along slowly, we are planning to move in before everything is done, my only concern is if we will ever do it then ?

We are in Suffolk so not far from you. Your plans sound very exciting, but I agree with the comments about timing. We got approval last July, but still haven't got the conditions discharged and then we have to do building regs. We hoped to start in the spring, but I'm not sure that will happen. What is your situation re CIL?