Ferdinand

I would phone up highways and ask them for an idea of what would be acceptable. They should have been consulted, and there may either be a name on the response or you can phone up the department and ask for the Highways bod dealing with your Planning App no. Be ready with your necessary questions and a conversation plan. You may offer to send a detailed email, or a summary (which you have ready) 'while I am talking to you', and they may find 15 minutes on the spot to get rid of you rather than have to process your followup. You need a sufficient steer not an outright answer. Which you then confirm by email to help the bod remember when the Council asks again next time, at which point you email them again briefly to remind them that they are the person to deal with it and what their answer is going to be when the Council asks. All wrapped up in suitable words so that they know they are being helpful not manipulated. The best person to teach you the conversational skills to do this process *may* be Lord Mandelbrot ?. .

Or an acceptable alternative, such as sprinklers or a dedicated water lake for the Firemen.

As an example when I weighed in the copper plumbing from a house including a water tank, and a few other bits, a couple of years ago, I received a couple of hundred or so.

Shouldn't that be worth *less* without removing the insulation?

In our area of the two I used, one turned out to supply it to the bigger one, so you use the one at the top of the chain. What matters is contamination that is work to remove, I think.

3.7m is I think a general guideline, from which there may be limited derogation depending what needs to be accessed down it. For a single house a narrower width down to perhaps 2.75m may be acceptable.

Thanks for a clear set of questions :=) . I love the "grandiose" - there are certain words that only Planning Officers, Hyacinth Bucket & friends of Penelope Keith use. "Cramped" is another. It is good that you have precise reasons for refusal, and there are lots of things you can do to address them. On the entrance, the suggestion to just get the PP for the house and a gravel track now is a good one. Another way is to get Highways to say that a 12m setback is needed or beneficial. They could be contacted via County probably and a few phone calls. Or just put a trad farm gate in at 6m, and another set of posts at 12m, and unilaterally move it a few months after completion. I think supplying a sketch of the entrance would be useful. But i think in general you may have given them too much information - eg the cobbles I would just have used. For the fence, you could try switching fence type to paddock fencing (round posts and half round rails) or Estate fencing as below. Or put a field hedge between the track and the fence. Or try and prove that the visual intrusion is minimal as no one can see it (might upset planner). I'm assuming that you need the fences there for your various Dobbinses - 2 alternating paddocks each side?. Estate Fencing can be surprisingly reasonable in price - eg from around £22 per metre, which is less than suburban panels though more than post and rail. (https://www.thetraditionalco.co.uk/estate-fencing/) For a really grandiose entrance: Ferdinand

In your reflections do not forget the cost difference between woolly insulation and PIR, which at 210mm would be £30+ per sqm. Where did the extra money go, if any?

That's a good start. Also try and identify things that you could cost-control to make it a longer term project if you have real problems. eg can new glazing, outbuilding, or new kitchen be treated as a later project or the kitchen done as a lower-end to be replaced after a few more years.

Is there a generic name for this type of ultra-wide sliding patio window idea? What are they called? Ferdinand

Looking really excellent.

What an excellent thread. So one of the lessons from this is (as we may feel in our waters) to tend to be slightly conservative in design if possible, and it does not prevent a really central "wow" feature.

Is there an argument for a door from ensuite to landing so that people can access if necessary, and to take things through to the dressing room without the bedroom hike?

Remember that you need to consider ventilation as well as insulation,

I think you can just cut and paste them. ie mouse select several, then CTRL-C CTRL-V (in Windows). F

They will insist on the name perhaps as a way of avoiding vexatious complaints. I think you can trust the enforcement teams more than other areas. Often names slip through on planning comments. OTOH I had a neighbour making vexatious complaints about one of tenants every year - basically using the Council and their "we have an obligation to follow through and visit" as a third party harassment service to victimise a single woman for years. They were resolutely solid in refusing to identify the offender. I found ways to push back, but it was uncomfortable. Fine - a grump is maybe going to look daggers at you in the pub. I don't think that is an atmosphere, it is a twat being a twat. At some stage you have to decide that it is time to do it, and not worry if they may somehow find out. The discreet way is perhaps by phone and say that you are concerned they may find out. Then you may be left off the file. In planning I phone up the Planner early in the process, and point out all the valid planning reasons why it is not acceptable, which is an attempt to write his report for him before he has read any of the comments and get him to write my comments in his name. Usually works. Stop prevaricating ?. You have been told most of what there is to know. Is it worth it? If so, jfdi. If not, don't. And have a G&T in both cases. F

The revealing bit of that is that there is no photo of the Dream Home pre-demolitiion. I expect it was a renovated jerry-build.

They aren't. They haven't noticed and no one has told them.

They can apply to build a few houses whenever they want. The only way to guarantee to be able to do it later, is to get PP now and start the development (eg foundations for one house and rebury them) after meeting the starting planning conditions. Speaking as a LL myself, imo the accommodation it is precisely your business (and imo perhaps your responsibility - depends on your views) to take an interest, because somebody renting like that, or living like that, is in a building which is not known or shown to be safe. Has it got an electrical safety certicate? What about gas? Is it suitable to be a dwelling? Or is it one of the well-known "beds in sheds"? Is the 'tenant' being exploited etc? I'm basing that view on the welfare of the person living there, rather than whether neighbours are being disturbed. If it is for eg a family member or granny, that is not particularly frowned upon. I am not sure ( @PeterW ?) whether a right to use it as accommodation can be obtained by someone living there for x years without enforcement. F

All of use it to some degree. I have a few big butts (water butts). But nearly all go for the "for the garden" sort rather than a second plumbing system to flush loos. The second sort is very complicated for the benefit, and you have to have more holes in your house. Shower heat recovery is an easier halo, if you want something.

Have a look at these people based in Hucknall, although it is a total shot in the dark. https://www.midlandmetalwindows.co.uk/ @PeterW may know more about them. (My punt is nebulous not a recommendation, based on my architect dad mentioning a custom steel maker in that smallish local area ("Hucknall") quite a number of years ago - like 20+, when I was looking for a low-profile porch. Got a quote only.). F

Crittall may be having all the money...

Do these have to be double or triple glazed? Or are these outside a set of heat proofing somethings? Or are you cashing in a bit of the near-passive planet-saving-halo for a small amount of guilt?

If you have a big garden perhaps take advantage of the demand to use some of it as a swale / bog garden? The volume of that should count as buffer. If you have the bottom of an excavated pool as pond, then can you count the 2ft to the top as storage volume? Just musing.

You will need to address general ventilation as well as your cooker hood, I think. Suggest checking the relevent Building Regs document, or ask your designer. Or ring up the Building Regs team at the Council for a pointer to where to look.