Ferdinand

Is "nudge" a word they use ? . Though I'd just made it up.

Agree with you there. I think you are falling foul of them potentially failing to use their discretion appropriately.

I have a couple which are difficult, and we fitted an extra stop valve at ground level - so that could be closed and the upper tap left open to try and prevent freezing by permitting expansion. Not ideal, though.

Interesting thread. My further notes. 1 - I agree on basements; I cannot see why a basement of itself in a spacious site should be a relevant planning matter, and I can't find a definitive ruling on whether it should be part of a GIA calculation. Though I can see that if it increases the 'load' of the house eg by having 2 extra bedrooms or an annexe (sort of like an upside-down Jane Eyre), that may impact on other policies. There is a useful document by Camden here which discusses potential impacts (I am not claiming this to be current): https://www.camden.gov.uk/documents/20142/0/Basement+Development+Guidance+Note.pdf/5727d198-d789-e06e-05ea-77f55b3a0d6f Judging by that doc, it is (probably correctly) a matter for the LPA (Local Planning Authority). 2 - One tactic that may help is to define the basement in a way which is non-habitable space (eg workshop, storage) but is suitable for later change. 3 - It's worth a note for future readers that a Planning Officer sits in on the Planning Committee to make sure they don't make 'ignorant layman' mistakes. If the committee choose to ignore this advice, then that is legally an abuse of procedure - and potentially a ground for Appeal.

That would only be any use if you had an auto closer on it as well, perhaps? The ones I used are these, which are stainless steel with a spring loaded "soft catch", and so would work, but you could close the door with a shoulder nudge if it opened the right way. They are cheap. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CLWN3CS/ Consider though, that many wetrooms will have doors opening outward.

Couldn't that be done with an external weatherproof light time switch, and a valve in the water pipe? There are also showers with built-in timers, are there not? I think we discussed those on here wrt my gym showers. Edit: or a timer shower. eg https://www.showermanager.com/ I love their not-at-all-gratuitous promo photo of a person who's shower just went cold and looks miserable:

That shouldn't interfere.

Back in 1970 or so, my dad designed these into showers for the local swimming pool when he was a council architect. There was a heel pad you had to stand on to make the shower work, which prevented anyone doing the "can you trigger the shower without getting wet thing". Made you vulnerable to the first cold patch, though.

One lesson there is a master tap inside. But that is standard anyway.

I think that perhaps changing a lot of things specifically for this may be overdone unless there are supplementary reasons or specialist requirements. Many of the things that you might do probably come under 'good practice anyway' - such things as having a whb in the separate loo, "nudge" taps with levers (which I use anyway so I don't have to put things down or because they are more convenient for tenants and in case I happen to have a disabled or tenant with poorer motor control *). You have probably considered many of these already. Probably my best unexpected "reduce contact" item has been door retainers, which hold your door open. I suppose the other item is voice control. I am getting used to Alexa, and am thinking about trying to link up my smart TVs. I am considering renaming Alexa to be the same as my cousin, as it would be the only time I have ever been able to tell her to do anything, and having it actually work. There are also pros and cons for each item - remember my thread from a few weeks ago about hand dryers, which talked about generating aerosols by things blown off your hands. F * I once heard a speech by a wonderful poet / writer / associate vicar in Nottingham called Alyn Haskey who had cerebral palsy. His quip was how to explain your hand suddenly shooting out on the train into the handbag of the person sitting next to you.

Various people here have installed hot taps iirc, especially for showers or dog wash points.

In that case I’ll quit whilst I am ahead ?.

Surely LA have the authority to decide what gets called in. If they want to do that for all PC objections, then why could they not use their discretion to set such a policy?

good stuff. I am not sure If you can send it to committee yourself, or if you need to get a councillor to call it in. One trick. I think if it gets to committee you only get to speak if there is also an objector, so if someone objects but pulls out at the last minute, you use your opportunity. The solution is to have a friend object then put forward an argument based on non-relevant matters, which means you get a guarantEed hearing. Pity you can’t do a Potemkin extension out of cardboard or wood under PD.

..

So paras 2 and 3 are PITAs you have bored through. What is the origin and evidence of this policy against flat roofs, and who formulated it? What is the policy status of the GIA limitation? I'm surprised if you cannot make a material argument based on extended family and benefit to the local community through it providing better care arrangements. Don't forget that the time limits on making an Appeal are quite tight.

Welcome. I think one of the interesting tensions is "ideology" vs "practicality" vs "long term performance" vs "money cost" vs "carbon cost" vs "quality of life". For a concrete example, if your council had told you that your house can be "x" m by "y" m in floorplan, do you go for 'sustainable' woodfibre insulation, or for something theoretically less sustainable, such as PIR, but which is maybe half as thick for the same amount of heat saving, and results in more space inside or lower bills for the same thickness of wall and more emissions over the house lifetime. And how does that integrate with politics / ideology. I was involved (as an individual subscriber) with a project or two in Brum from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s (IIRC) based at the West Hill College in the Selly Oak Colleges (usually around initiatives by David Clark, who now lives in Bakewell), which were mainly absorbed into the Uni then gradually ceased to be able to be their own centre. I always found 'Ecotheology' (though I wouldn't call it that) interesting as an important area in thinking amongst Industrial Chaplains and other similar networks, and sodalities which emerged from the hippy movement. On here I think we lean towards long term performance and money cost as we are mainly spending our own money. A particular thumbsup for the "theologian" - a lot of people these days think theology is a good joke for children. Cheers Ferdinand

Don't forget that 50 miles would also cover a good amount of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and also the triangle around Coventry. I am not sure what impact the current Coronavirus will have on prices and the market - whether people will flee the city and rural plots will get more expensive, or the converse.

That is an echo of burnt toast being acceptable on a small boat.

On anagrams, I just discovered the Goddard's Brewery story about their Duck's Folly beer, and Lloyds of London. https://goddardsbrewery.com/behind-the-scenes/history/

It depends. If eg you want to keep plasterboard or dry wood or paper in there, then having bare garden walls in the unit will provide a way in for damp (no DPC). So say a 6ft x 14ft lined shed may be the better option. Or you could use the walls to support the structure and have a decoupled lining to isolate it from the walls and perhaps insulate. F

That says at least that you will probably want to to be a more detached from the structure job rather than use the existing walls (could be coating or lining or a close fitting buiding), as garden walls will always be conduits for damp.

Welcome. All of those are doable, but it revolves around your requirement. Really, that is what you want to do in it, when, and in what conditions. eg is it a 12 month need, or for the summer. Does it have to be bone dry, or merely rainproof? What is going to be in it? I would start with a bullet list of "what is it for?" in about 250 words. If you are right up to the boundary you may run into a requirement for planning permission.

I would also talk to a smallish local gate fabricator / fitter as a control. I found a custom one to be quite competitive including fitting. Around here there are a number .. a couple in each town. F

Have you had Loaded Vim? Or Valid Demo? Some people can do it .. but not me, unfortunately. I can do more with maths. One of my favourite websites since about 1995. https://wordsmith.org/anagram/about.html