Hello from Bedfordshire

[john0wingnut]

Hi all

 

New to the forum.

 

Bought a little Bungalow a few years back with an acre field, and extended it / renovated it, to make it it more efficient - ASHP, Solar Thermal, 7Kw PV, Tesla Powerwall..........

 

I am now looking at getting permission to build one house on the field and will be going after passive house standards.

 

Initial conversations with a local design firm, who know the Bedford planning side of things well have indicated it will likely go to appeal as the land is classed as agricultural and is outside the settlement envelope, but, Bedford dont currently have a confirmed 5 year housing supply, and a few appeals were won on this basis................ so we shall see

 

John

[Ferdinand]

Welcome.

 

Best of luck.

[Jilly]

Are you going down the route of ' Paragraph 79 (previously paragraph 55) of the National Planning Policy Framework states that single dwellings in rural countryside would be looked at more favourably, if the dwelling is of exceptional quality and innovative in the nature of its design and of outstanding architectural merit.'?

[john0wingnut]

20 minutes ago, Jilly said:

Are you going down the route of ' Paragraph 79 (previously paragraph 55) of the National Planning Policy Framework states that single dwellings in rural countryside would be looked at more favourably, if the dwelling is of exceptional quality and innovative in the nature of its design and of outstanding architectural merit.'?

 

The company I am potentially going to use did mention something along those lines, around the fact I am making an Eco home / passive house etc would hold weight, but I will take the above and ask them to utilise that paragraph

[Kelvasco]

Welcome to the forums John,

 

I'm a long time lurker but limited comments, you've joined the most insightful forum on the internet in my book.

 

I'm also based in Bedford (well Bromham) so would be interested to view your project as it goes along if you didn't mind. Always on the lookout for a plot to build on so would be good to see a local Passivhaus/Eco home going up & the challenges of that.

 

Thanks & Regards.

[john0wingnut]

On 04/12/2019 at 15:13, Kelvasco said:

Welcome to the forums John,

 

I'm a long time lurker but limited comments, you've joined the most insightful forum on the internet in my book.

 

I'm also based in Bedford (well Bromham) so would be interested to view your project as it goes along if you didn't mind. Always on the lookout for a plot to build on so would be good to see a local Passivhaus/Eco home going up & the challenges of that.

 

Thanks & Regards.

 

No probs at all. Once it gets off the ground I can let you know.

 

Long planning path ahead mind as there are all sorts of nuances to sort out:

 

Shared driveway - current bungalows all share it and there is no recorded owner, so I have to put an add in the paper.

 

Shared access way from main road -

• owned by first bungalow on the cul de sac, so have been advised that I need to get a solicitor to check and make sure the rights of access our current house / land have are passed to the new property
• its a narrow road and currently serves 6 houses. Planners may apparently get funny as we are increasing traffic (by 2 cars lol)

The acre field -

• we have a pond which is surveyed yearly by an ecology firm as there are stack loads of Great Crest Newts in there / around it
• Currently classed as agricultural land, even though its being used as a garden and has been for numerous years, so going to apply for an LDC, before getting planning

..........so plenty for me to sort out.

 

Also loads of applications have been thrown out in our area lately by the councillors. Mostly because people are just trying to shove a stack load of houses on small parcels of land, that all look drab and boring - those were some of the comments. So hopefully by going after a passive house with loads of eco features, interesting design etc, I should be ok.

 

John

[Eileen]

Re para 55/79 - the key thing now is that it's exceptional quality OR innovative, which was the big change from the previous PPS7, which said AND. We went for it (and got it) on the exceptional quality route, although as it turned out we are a certified Passive House and energy positive, but it wasn't innovative in that we weren't first adopters of any particular technology or method.

 

We had to present to the Design Review Panel who gave us an immediate thumbs up. However, Planning disagreed with them and recommended refusal, but the Development Committee over-ruled them and granted permission by 11-1. Been living in it for a year now!

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Eileen
Typos