Ferdinand

May not be that critical, but my Senco does not like screws longer than 50mm, unless you remove the appropriate limiter ... then it is OK. Mine is a 14V DS202, and is fine. So if yours is 18V it will be great.

Here we go. The garage on the right is the one that was converted for the nanny and fenced off. The new entrance on the left is onto a duel carriageway and you can see the start of the junction splay, which goes to an estate road off the bottom of the pic. I have read several articles on this and I do not think a single one mentions that the retrospective application and Appeal were rejected on grounds of safety for traffic entering the Estate. They all focus on the funny aspect. Credit to the BBC for a contextual pic, however. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-43043752 The Applicants comments to the Leicester Mercury website make clear that they *still* are not willing to admit to this. Appeal Decision attached here: leicester-nanny-annexe-hidden-house.pdf F

HAving written all of that I would judge the most likely thing I have run across as being persuading the local council to treat it as a Minor Improvement Grant for £1000 in England, which may involve making a fairly creative argument and perhaps getting an installer to nobble their price. Summary here: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/funding-to-adapt-your-home-for-accessibility#funding-major-adaptations--the-disabled-facilities-grant F

I know a bit of background to thes schemes as I have had several in the last year or two in tenanted properties. In my experience loft insulation is still available for free in many places IF you currently have less than 100mm in your roof (i.e. 50mm) AND it is a simple roof. I have had these where they have refused to go into difficult to access sections such as roofs over rear extensions even at 1st floor level. (*) I haven't met the dormer OK room in roof NOT OK distinction before, but I think it is likely to be because they are targeted on the basis of how many they insulate and how much greenhouse gases they save, and hard to insulate would fall outside that. Therefore the low hanging fruit is targeted. Now that does not help in this query. This next might. Local Councils have a responsibility to help adapt homes to make them suitable for disabled people to live in; this covers things like bathrooms ramps and stair lifts; I am not sure whether this covers insulation etc, but they may know where to go. These are now called Disabled Facilities Grants I think, and the Disabled Rights UK website has information: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/housing-grants The remit covers improved heating systems, which may or may not be arguable as improved insulation. THere is also reference to making homes safe to live in, which might engage Decent Homes standards or HHSRS (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-guidance-for-landlords-and-property-related-professionals), which are (very) comprehensive. The other contact point is your local Homes Improvement Agency, who are targeted iirc at keeping vulnerable people in their own homes rather than putting pressure on the NHS. THis website has more info and can help you find your local HIA: http://www.findmyhia.org.uk/ I do not know much about HIAs. There may also be local charities or organisations with the ability to make grants or gifts if other routes fail and it is reasonably modest. That is what I know off the top of my head, but I am afraid there is homework to be done - as ever. Ferdinand * The solution to point one is to remove what is there already first if you are close to 100mm, and put it back afterwards or use it elsewhere.

Don't overdo the tears, gents. This is a household with an income that may well have been over 100k (one is a senior NHS professional) wanting living accommodation for a full-time nanny, in an area with no particular housing crisis and not especially high prices, where they could easily afford a larger house if they could be bothered. So they did it without permission in breach of Planning Conditions designed to protect community safety and opened up an unauthorised entrance onto a busy dual carriage way a couple of metres from a Junction splay into a Housing Estate.. Reckless is the word imo. What lost them the Appeal was endangering other people turning into the housing estate. Will post a couple of links later. F

I think you need a mate with a Hiab and collect from the factory to even have a chance at that. Some scope for saving as transport costs are high for bricks - one number I saw said 25%, but they are not a large % cost in a house. Brick factors may perhaps have a role in smoothing demand / prices and ordering ahead as the economics of Brick kilns requires constant operation(?), thereby redistributing risk? Something like the positive role played by commodity traders / speculators? They also have a role as distribution and matching specialists aiui. How well attested is that 20% margin? Is there a futures market in bricks? Ferdinand

That's interesting.

I suppose a garage door is cheaper than a haystack. Congratulations to Blaby ... it took 2 years to get to Court. If you want to know why people do it, consider the low level of the fines. I think the garage door was an attempt at concealment after challenge by the Council rather than a Thunderbirds style entrance. I wonder what their plans were for it. I have one locally where the developer got pp by offering several off-road parking spaces in a back garden, and claimed that the neighbouring plot had made a legally binding promise to provide access as he had a Right of Way. Neighbouring plot now sold at auction to third party, and garden fence reinstated. Not sure how to proceed.

If you think there is a particular issue at any point a blob of silicone in the screw hole or even smeared on the screw will seal it.

If you have a digger you can push it down, or perhaps there is some clean stuff you can burn? Sometimes repair is much more than replace. Always need to run the numbers.

@Vision Of Heaven 1 - Woodworm .. woodwormed stuff ends up feeling very rough inside and as dry as dust and crumbles to a pile of dust. But we really need a close up photo. 2 - Lath and plaster. If the plaster is sagging or loose it means that the nibs have broken off, where it is supported by plaster pushed between the laths. The answer is plasterboard over, or take it down and patch or start again. You need a plaster that binds together as if it had horsehair in it. 100g of horsehair will do about 4 sqm according to suppliers. You need to think what you are doing with your cornices ... quite cheap to replace but you may have views about original features. I would replace with something as close as possible, 3 - I am assuming it is not listed. Ferdinand

Q: should Greg Wallace have been marooned on veg talk?

Do you have ivy to deal with and clear? The easy way is to cut 6 inches out of the main stem and leave it for a year.

Just checking. You do have your CIL exemption in place if you need one?

I would also add take a hard headed look at the strength of your family and relationship, and make sure you are all committed and have discussed potential costs and consequences of them saying no. And that you have read our blogs about the time and stress involved. This process ... especially if you lose say 10k or 20k without return in Planning Costs ... can stress or sometimes wreck relationships.

IT depends . When we got PP for our family Land (inside the community boundary and enough for a small housing estate) which had been in the allocations for housing for about 5 years and was then excluded at the last point because of a cocked-up Sustainability Analysis by the Council, we judged it was either 1 Accept what is the likely decision which will leave it out Until the next Local Plan which would be 2028. 2 Apply for PP now before policy exists which is against getting PP because it would be zoned Open Space not Housing. IMplemented Council policy has significant weight in the planning process. We budgeted for an Appeal from day one, and our stake money in the game of Planning Poker was a legacy which we could continue to live quite comfortably without if we lost it in the Planning game. We would have had a field costing perhaps £500 a year to maintain if we lost. Cannot remember whether the appellant gets to choose the forum. There is no Council Fee but our Planning Consultant gave us 3 estimates for his and other costs. As ours was a larger project we hired a very experienced Planning Consultant who regularly appeared at Public Enquiries and Higher Courts etc, and had won a couple of controversial Local appeals with our Council. Your costs may be entirely different, but you need a consultant who can win on the benefits of your development outbalancing the reasons for not doing it, which are stringent in the green belt in England at least. IT would help you to find out if is really in Green Belt or not. There are 3 fora: 1 - Written Representations. A couple of thousand for his time. SOme people do this one themselves. 2 - A Hearing. Informal with the Inspector and the applicant, Council and reps in the room. Up to a few thousand. 3 - A local Public Enquiry. Potentially requiring a barrister for a number of days. UP to £25k to be safe. We won on Appeal with written representations. The Council Case was weak. In the end the Council Local Plan was rejected as inadequate and they were told to start again. Ferdinand

This could be one for a Planning Consultant, one who has won previous similar local PPs. And consider whether you will be willing to Appeal, and if so make sure the budget is there if yes ... for whichever type of appeal you would consider.

You need to consider what your position would be were your site to be excluded from the LDP. And it was then brought into force.

You can probably send water down the sewer if they ... the water company ... do not object and the Council let it through. My own Councils' Position is that they follow the recommendation, and a planning App I helped kill last December (30 ft blank gable 5ft from my fence) had waste water to sewerage approved. The Council said that there was no point objecting to that as it was OK by them when I was recruiting the kitchen sink to throw at it. OTOH talking to a family friend today who has inexplicably high water bills, 14% of his water bill (=~ £100 of £600) relates to waste water. So a soak away may actually pay for itself quite quickly by comparison. Ferdinand

What does large mean for your tank? Is there an approximate number in cubic metres?

WRiting that letter from para 4, you could put an acknowledged signature space at the bottom for your builder to sign. 2 copies, one each. But that can potentially be awkward should they refuse to sign. Ferdinand

I think there is an argument for buying 3 and using the same shower in both.

On the trays if you want opinions on that, decent quality shower tray of 1400 x 900 or perhaps 1800 x 900 and fixed 8mm glass screen with a strong iverhead brace should be coming in at perhaps £350-400 delivered from a decent outlet on eBay. Waste etc may be included free. The last ones I had were 1800x760mm from a manufacturer in Tewkesbury called mx-group.com, which have withstood 5 years of students so far. Check their website then phone them up. I think I bought via eBay or traced them back to their factory shop. I am told stone resin trays are the ones to have, but others may have different views or prefer new fangled wetrooms. On the showers, I think the Welsh Wizard recommended one recently.

That sounds expensive. You could go and look at some other planning apps and see who the consultants were. Or one of your other consultants or your tree man may know someone less expensive. If they found nothing, what is the Council's reason for that condition? Does it meet the 6 tests of a Planning Condition? You could apply for a variation in that condition, then Appeal a refusal if they say no. The Planning Inspectorate would decide whether your build needs that supervision rationally. If it is not a pre-commencement condition, you may not even need to stop work. Notes Hth a little. Fetdinand

Wonderful project. There could be any number of amusements in the new round cellar.