Ferdinand

No, just a grey area where the Council will only enforce reactively, because it is hardly ever a problem. Ferdinand

The only person I know in Wales who got into trouble for boosting their gates was Charlotte Church, and she boosted hers from 2m to 3m high. All they asked for was a retrospective application. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6126122.stm F

Here is a gate I have which I was planning to post as an example of a more modest gate. It was previously a galvanised farm gate, which was destroyed when a branch fell off a tree. This is a farm gate which cost me about £110 a couple of years ago, on the same posts. I just made a hole in the hedge originally and did it. I did not ask anyone before changing it from galvanised to wood. Ferdinand

Possibly everthing. IMO an improved gate that fits the context of a rural village will not get complained about because locals will like it, and it fits in. However, if you have someone bloodyminded, they may complain as a technicality, and if they do the Council may tell you to apply. My personal opinion is that a modest farm-style gate will be got-away-with about 8 or 9 times out of 10, but if you do something that would be ore suitable for Minas Tirith or Helm's Deep, someone is more likely to complain. If you can argue that it is just a like for like replacement, which you can, then it should be OK. F

Possibly

Is it a replacement? If so, that is surely a repair. Personally I would just JFDI that. The policy is nuts in that situation. Is the penalty if you have to retrospectively do an app later more than to do one initially? If so, there is probably little downside. Certainly I would do so if it was a standard farm-style gate. If you were doing a @Onoff Minas Tirith or Helm's Deep style thing, it might be more more risky. F

Not convinced of this. The situation in England is that the Council have the option depending on the significance of the changes. This is Bridgend, and I do not know how to trace down this aspect of Welsh Planning Guidance - though tbh it is the kind of thing a devolved Government would change to convince themselves they are superior with clearer rules. I am not at all sure that such a duty exists in law, or that "objections need to be withdrawn" is a thing, or even that such a comment period would need to be 3 weeks. If it just 3 neughbours you could try and make her email them with 5 says to respond. Not convinced that that is necessary in Planning Terms, either. Obscure should be enough. You could ask her about how a window raised to a point where you cannot see out will permit fire escape? Suspect the answer would be "Abracadabra, sprinklers are compulsory!". I am surprised about the comments. Not publishing them online seems antediluvian. If you need them put in an FOI and they should come back on a PDF attached to an email, which has usually happened in a day or two for me. But I am at the end of my knowledge of Welsh Planning procedure. I would be getting grumpy. [Update: wrt my previous comment, I am not sure what the time limit is for PP determination in Wales before you can Appeal] Ferdinand

We all love to wallow in our chosen bath.

Planning works differently in every place, and on every different day in the same place ?. The name of the game is a design which is "acceptable in planning terms"; finding that balance is a dance you are dancing, and a game of poker you are playing. Here, I think you are being strung along in one or two aspects, and may have given more away than you needed in one or two (depending if the stuff was in anyway in order to give things away you don't need). But that depends on the case - such as whether she is recommending to the committee, or making her own decision. Enough waffle. Specifics. IMO it is time to call a halt. 1 - If the queries relate solely to her and her team, patently she does not need to consult with neighbours. That is probably a search for reassurance or wanting some cover. I would say no on that basis; she already knows what the neighbours think due to the opportunity to object. 2 - I think you could reasonably have expected her to know her own mind, so another cycle of reactions should not be necessary. If you have given them everything they wanted then you should have a reasonable expectation of immediate approval. 3 - I would also point out that they are required to make a decision within 8 weeks, and are now significantly over that deadline, or you can Appeal for non-determination (The exception is if you agreed to extra time), and would therefore like a decision now (bur a statement that strong is a judgement call in the context). Another 3 weeks is taking the P. And they will want a further 2 weeks to think about the answers. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200126/applications/58/the_decision-making_process/8 4 - I would probably have offered half the height reduction requested, obscure glazing in the 2nd Flr window (which is as good as removal in planning terms and gives you light), and have kept the front balcony, or offered a Juliet (surveillance + more active street scene). I would have obscured the window with a stick-on film, which I might have been caught out on. But those are all contextual and there could be good reasons to be different. At this point, if you have offered everything they want, then I would expect an instant approval. Or I would perhaps be a little less generous on the concessions, and still request a decision. I would defenestrate the neighbour consultation request with prejudice. BUT ... I would always try and explore it all in a phone conversation first with the PO. eg "Why do you think you need to go back to neighbours, when you have already said the query came from within your team?". Resolution with a smile. But that is me shooting in the dark on a forum with an opinion, whilst this is your new house. Ferdinand

Cheers all. Sounds like acrylic, then. What was it Norman Lamont sang in the shower whilst the economy was evaporating? Just so I'm ready for the shop...

IIRC Jeremy’s build costs were 2014-2017 ish. Just doing reviews on a couple of 3 year no-increase rental agreements (no longer offered due to increased legislative risks imposed since) I have with a few tenants, which suggests that +10% is a reasonable inflation adjustment to apply for the 4-5 year period, which makes the @JSHarris per sqm total build cost about £1525 per sqm, or 200k for the cost .. ignoring plot, borehole fun and games etc. That excludes BREXIT, extra inflation if any etc. F

This makes me smile every time I read it. It is what I do to fences, and @Onoff to gates. You are very fortunate that you did not end up with a Borders’ version of the Palace at Knossos, complete with Minotaur in the basement. You could recruit some toyboys and have a Scottish Seraglio. F

The whole thing, which I think may give them wriggle room .. depends on whether the para you quote is in series or parallel with the rest: Either way for Plan A you keep quiet until something happens. ferdinand

Just a warning because I have known people who got it wrong. It is better to go in a few hours a day or have an oppo if you are risking your back ... such a risk is not worth it. Use the sack trolleys, knee pads and whatever equipment it needs. And pay a man if you are dealing with any really heavy pavers. I have a problem even when I am paying people stopping them from doing their backs ... despite repeated explicit instructions to not move 40kg or 60kg pavers or sheets of PB or OSB on their own etc. then they have a day off and it costs them money and delays my project. F

I guess that the bathroom humidity might be an aggravating factor?

The VOA can reband your property If they assess i5 as having changed; but you can Appeal or apply for a reduction. it would surprise me if they are not automatically informed of PPs and sign-offs. On the govt website you can check the values of properties, and the best way to estimate what might happen is to look at the numbers for properties near you similar in size to your finished project. Be warned slightly: if someone complains of being too high they have been known to increase the rest rather than cut that one. F

Ok. A few weeks in. The only thing that a really being missed is an EPG; even within the version of iPlayer or the Really / Dave etc app it is very difficult to find things. i may need to think about the TV Player to make Freeview type channels easier to find. We have reverted to a newspaper for TV times for now. F

I am thinking of a bath vaguely like this one, which a stand-alone but with an enclosed body rather than legs. https://victoriaplum.com/product/orchard-wharfe-freestanding-bath This is acrylic. Is there a better material? My gap it has to fit into is 800 wide. Thanks Ferdinand

So why do they not wash their hands in Amsterdam? *innocent face* Amsterdam is unpopular with me today. Watched a Sky interview this AM with one of the people planning to disrupt London tomorrow. Turns out she commutes from her ‘house In the Netherlands’ and saving the planet consists of Eurostar not flying. One return ticket a week uses up half of the average per capita Uk use of CO2, which is 5.7 tonnes. If homework had been done, the deluded infividual would know that the Netherlands emits pretty much double the CO2 per head than we do, and it is up by 10% since 1990, whilst ours is down by nearly 40%. Bah. Rioja Revolutionaries. Ferdinand

Where are you trying to put it in that space, or outside the door? And what is your minimum dimension front to back? You can get them down to about 225mm, but even that would be tight.eghttps://soak.com/en-gb/furniture/vanity-units/cloakroom-vanity-units/essential-range---white-slimline-freestanding-basin-unit/2000677.html#start=1 Given that it is newly tiled, how will you run the pipes without smashing your hard work? I think that it could be more sensible outside the door ... can we have a piccie of the view from about 2m back? Cheers F

For the record, that is not F

Cause: Probably either using a non-flexible tile adhesive in a room with ufh (bath 1 and 2), and/or using 8x4 sheets of chipboard for the subfloor rather than tongue-and-groove (bath 2). Relatively minor mistakes 10-12 years ago by the self-builder who added a top storey to this bungalow. Consequence 10 years later - significant contributer to need for 2 new bathrooms. Bathroom 1 - movement and grout deterioration. Bathroom 2: Tiles cracking on an 8x4 grid, exasperated (maybe) by ufh only being over part of the floor increasing differential movement Thought: Skimp on the stuff you can see, not the stuff you can't see. And save on the deal, not the quality.

This is an attempt to compile a list of small errors that are large problems to sort out later. Though perhaps we need to be thinking about "deep" errors as well as small ones. It has been inspired by my current need to replace both bathroom floors from what seem to be minor mistakes 10-12 years ago by the self-builder who added a top storey to thsi bungalow. Ferdinand

Aside. From the link: Why does one need beach stones for the veg patch? I used driveway stones in my tenant's grave last week to specify the precise colour of masonry paint she *desires* (and does not exactly get), but why these beach stones? F

I am not entirely sure that an angled roof window is more noisy than a vertical window. Has anyone specific experience? F