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Hi all, I've been looking for a suitable plot for many years and recently come across a few that finally look suitable. However, they all seem to have a public footpath or bridleway either directly through the plot or around the side of it within the plot boundary. I know the process to re-route/divert can be long and costly. Does anyone have any experience of obtaining planning permission to develop a site whilst a footpath diversion application is in place? Just trying to ascertain if the site could still be developed at the same time the diversion order was being processed. Obviously if the diversion order has to be completed first before any planning permission is granted you might be talking 2 years for the diversion order to complete, then a year for PP then a year or so for build which is obviously a considerable amount of time! Thanks

Hi everyone, a quick intro to say hello. More a renovator than a self builder and very much at the end of a project to make an 1870s Bristol house suitable to keep us here for at least the next ten years with a growing family. With a 2 year old and a now a two week old I had as an objective to reduce the carbon footprint of our energy use. The project was principally a single story extension to make a kitchen diner in addition to various changes to other rooms such as a bathroom with some walls coming out in the process. The opportunity was there to move the boiler and having had one too many showers turn cold with another tap being used, I decided it was worth doing something to the water system in toto. This is where I owe this forum and certain contributors a huge thank you as I learnt a great deal from them whilst trying to decide where to go with the spec although it didn't quite follow the original plan. The house is a narrow terrace with a couple of rooms on each of three floors and is topped off with a butterfly roof so less than ideal for solar. So why join the forum now? Well the principle threads I followed were around hot water and we've ended up with a 4kw array on the more favourable pitch, a Powerwall 2, and a Mixergy tank. This last part I see mentioned here quite a bit so wanted to offer a bit of user feedback to those considering one if that might be useful. There was much to'ing and fro'ing before arriving at this setup and the original intent had been a Sunamp Uniq 9 or larger. Various things conspired to drive the spec as it stands and we're only in the first few months of use. Very much learning as we go. I hope this finds everyone well in these times. Best, Billy

Has anyone had the issue of having to divert a gas main for the foundations and idea of costs? The contractor is 3/4 through the foundations and discovered a steel pipe. The initial inspection points to it being an old gas pipe that has since had plastic fed through it. We now await follow up inspection, then can apply for a quote to divert. We checked prior to building the location maps it looks like the network drawings are slightly out. It should be under a flagged footpath the same as all the other utilities, we can only think that many years ago it was decided lower cost to put under what was softer ground compared to taking up old flagstones. Disappointed that not only has worked stopped for an unknown period we will get hit with the extra costs to divert despite carrying out all relevant checks. Anyone ideas on pricing per metre or how the process works in terms of time would appreciate comments, online I can only find prices for meter diversions. ? I couldn't find any other information on this forum so think its another potential hidden pitfall to be aware of for future self-builders, we were grateful it wasn't damaged.