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Self build in llangollen


kaye

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Hi all, have been stalking this site for a few weeks not and its time to come out of hiding as I think I will be needing to consult the experience and brains on the site shortly.

I am embarking on a project to demolish a decrepit bungalow and granny flat in a beautiful north wales valley and replace with a passive standard timber frame 2 storey house and granny flat/garage. I have absolutely zilch experience in building (though I have learned dry stone walling and started to reinstate the walls around the plot which I am incredibly proud of) but am in a fortunate position to have time to be very involved in the project. I am a project and programme manager and have many years experience in the finance industry, hence my expectations are that a. nobody does anything when they are supposed to do it and b when they eventually do it its not as expected. I think that should set me up realistically?   

I  have my planning permission,  have selected and ordered my timber frame following many weeks of evaluation and research and ready to demolish the shacks and make some real progress in the next month. So now the fun starts! Wish me luck folks!

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Thank you! I have attached a PDF of the house plan. 

I am going for a passive house with  0.12 u value, roof is 0.10 with passive slab, triple glazed aluclad windows. The garage is also going to be timber frame but of a lower spec.

I did a whole bunch of research into timber frame suppliers and from a massive of list of around 18 (they all have widely different offering which is bewildering)  ended up with a shortlist of 2,  Scotframe and MBC. I opted for MBC end as they provide the slab and partner with Rationel widows and I wanted to keep as much as I could with one supplier to reduce the potential for gaps and issues.

Planning permission was trying! I am very glad I deployed the services of a planning consultant else I think I would have ended up as public enemy number one with our planning department.

One thing that has surprised me is how hard it is to find reclamation folks interested in stuff e.g cant even give away the lovely JC Edwards clay roof tiles. Such a shame as they are now going to be crushed and contribute to a farm track.  

I have included a photo of the house and flat as they are, (at least for the next couple of weeks till we drop them) and of my lovely wall when I was in progress of reinstating it, may start on the rest of it when the site is cleared and am waiting for the arrival of the frame. 

bryer_as_it_is.jpg

bryer wall.jpg

bryer_wall_2.jpg

03 Proposed Plans and Elevations. A2_.pdf

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2 hours ago, PeterStarck said:

Hi Kaye, welcome to the forum and good luck with your project. Neat walling by the way.

thanks Peter. only another 200 yards or so to go! a nice job for sunny weather!

 

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Hiya welcome, looks like your plans are coming along nicely, come and build a wall for me. Just looked at your plans, they look good, what’s the view outside bedroom number 2? If it’s beautiful Wales you will need to move that fitted wardrobe and put the bed in its place! 

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52 minutes ago, Taff said:

Hiya welcome, looks like your plans are coming along nicely, come and build a wall for me. Just looked at your plans, they look good, what’s the view outside bedroom number 2? If it’s beautiful Wales you will need to move that fitted wardrobe and put the bed in its place! 

HI Taff, Thankyou. It is a beautiful view we have out the front and sides, bed 2 has a lovely aspect and patio doors onto a juliet balcony, that's the plan once I source one that doesn't cost an arm and leg! 

view_from_bryer.jpg

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1 hour ago, stephen margerison said:

Don't want to put a spanner in the works, but does your council charge CIL ?? if so, STOP all work until you have filled in the CIL forms correctly, getting it wrong can be VERY painful.

love your wall !

I checked this with my planning consultant early doors and he said I don't fall under CIL. Not sure if it was because it was a demolition and rebuild or self build. Either way he was quite definite about it. I haven't filled in any forms though? I love all the hurdles from local council. SuDs has been my favourite so far given I am in the middle of fields and already have drainage to the existing structures that have been around since 1940. An thanks I am very proud of my wall! Sitting at a desk for many years I never thought I could do something like that!

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Hi Kaye

 

Welcome. Looks like an interesting project. 

 

Personally I would want to know *why* CiL does not apply. It may just be that like ours the Council has not implemented it. 

 

I'm quite close to the National Stone Centre at Wirksworth in Derbyshire, who have a 'gallery' of different types of stone wall. 

 

I know of at least one 'house' built out of a dry stone wall...

 

skellig-michael.thumb.jpg.6616c774b917960f75c7322be318fb6a.jpg

 

Ferdinand

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13 hours ago, Taff said:

My architect has said cil doesn’t apply to our build! He better be bloody right 

Taff - I think I am exempt as I am not creating a new dwelling or increasing the floorspace by more than 100 feet. I am demolishing and rebuilding similar footprints on existing site. I will check with my consultant though on the exact reasons as to why as this has made me dubious!

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  • 3 weeks later...

@kayeCIL came along just after our new-build but we paid some S106 charges that were relatively low. However, on looking at our local planning authority site it confirms that new builds are exempt, BUT it says that you must apply for and recive an official exemption certificate before you commence development, otherwise you will be liable for the full charge. So it would  definitely be worth checking if your authority is the same. 

Edited by Eileen
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On 27/03/2020 at 12:27, Eileen said:

@kayeCIL came along just after our new-build but we paid some S106 charges that were relatively low. However, on looking at our local planning authority site it confirms that new builds are exempt, BUT it says that you must apply for and recive an official exemption certificate before you commence development, otherwise you will be liable for the full charge. So it would  definitely be worth checking if your authority is the same. 

@Eileen I have checked and as my house is a replacement dwelling (policy h10) and a one for one replacement, as such  there is no CIL apparently. Also there is no CIL in Wrexham county.  I queried it back to my planning consultant and he didn't provide an explanation but said I needed to do nothing more, being a cautious type I checked with the planning also (just in case) and they provided an explanation on where some "development contribution" levies apply but not CIL. All seems a bit confused but I have it in writing so am going to go off and worry about other things now.  Thanks for prompting me though as it would have been a sorry state of affairs if I stumbled across it later. 

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