Single Yorkshire Conversion Or Maybe Site Clearance & Three Homes....

[Carbon13]

How to keep a long story short.......

 

We live in an older house in a relatively modern village in the 'grim north',  most houses were built in the 70's, all are large 4/5 bedroom individual designed & stone built, an aspirational area with a great school etc, one of these is my mothers. It's a bungalow with a beautiful view down a long valley over a small town and has a substantial detached garage built into the hillside, single storey with two parking spaces accessed from the road above but two storey on the downward side of the hill, it also has great views from its elevated position.

 

When the garage was built in the 70's it was constructed as I understand it with the long term intention of turning it into a small 2 bed detached dwelling by putting another storey on top and separating the land from the main bungalow. It had outline consent in 1980 which lapsed as the previous owners got too old to undertake the work, then my father got outline permission 20yrs ago but this also lapsed as he became ill and passed away. The planning permission/notes etc are still on the councils website and based on them I see little problem having new outline consent granted albeit for a more modern variation on a past theme, before I get too old/pass.....away maybe it's cursed ?

 

BUT when the main village was expanded and new houses built in the 70's what I believe was a building scheme covenant was placed on each dwelling which allowed for only a single dwelling on each building plot so I believe I'm left having the covenant lifted or amended at the Lands Tribunal and likely paying some compensation to the immediate neighbours. They won't be impacted at all by the construction based on the planning officers notes from 20yrs ago but I believe that's how it goes.

 

So my first question to you all is have you experienced covenant issues, been to the tribunal, have knowledge of the process, pitfalls, must do's, should do's, words of guidance and wisdom ?

 

When discussing this all with my mother she dropped the bombshell of 'well why not knock my bungalow down and the garage, clear the whole site and build a small row of three storey terraces with garages underneath across the plot, they'll be worth over a million given the location, access to motorway and the views.....' well that was certainly unexpected Mum 

 

My next question to you is, can there be more than one agreed outline plan in existence at the same time, the terrace idea is great but the council will have great reservations about this sort of development I suspect, can I apply for both, could both be granted, I guess the common sense answer is No, just one at a time ?

 

Finally, within 1 to 2 miles of the existing village are two new and huge 'garden village' developments in the planning hence why I think it's a good time to resurrect this little project, that and the fact I'm now semi-retired and can dedicate time, effort and some money to it.

 

Thanks and I really look forward to learning from you all.

[Ferdinand]

Welcome.

 

With luck the covenant may be unenforceable. It can be quite difficult to do so. Suggest concise advice from an established local solicitor with a suitable property specialist. Crucial things are who the beneficiary is and whether you can show if anyone has breached it successfully.

 

It is unlikely that people will take the risk of attempted enforcement either if you are doing something minimal or they have a low chance of success. Unless they are Mr Suburb with money to burn and/or hate the ground you walk on.

 

There can be 27 PPs in existence if you like. But be clear about what you are implementing.

 

The terrace idea may be better if you can combine parts of adjacent plots and make it a small cel de sac.

 

F

Edited July 14, 2019 by Ferdinand

[scottishjohn]

sounds like you need a planning specialist on this  to me 

certainly what i would take some professional advice at this stage 

but that just me

[Jilly]

Definitely find out exactly who the covenant is with and if there is any reciprocal agreement that you might be able to make some kind of exchange/release of obligation/ new and mutually beneficial agreement with. 

 

As you don't want to live in it, it might be worth getting a land agent on board or a developer who will do some kind of no win no fee thing. The major uplift in value is in gaining planning at the moment.

 

You can also visit the planners, independent of the covenant (unless it is with the council!) and put the idea to them. However, it would be best to pay and get proper pre planning advice, as I have found to my cost that the the free informal little chats are not always reliable. You need everything in writing.

[Carbon13]

Thank you for your responses, contacting a planning specialist didn't occur as I didn't know they existed, a quick search found a local chap who worked in the councils planning dept for years so he should be a good bet.

 

It's good to know more than a single permission can be in place so I'll consider two applications if the specialist suggests the three house option is a possibility.

 

I'll study the forum and educate myself.