Final (final final) design..finally.

[SuperJohnG]

Good evening all, 

 

I was going to update one of my other threads where I was looking for design input to close the loop but decided I had too many to cover, so best to put it here.

 

Also noticed I hadn't added pictures of our plot which we completed purchase on a couple of months back. . Hence see below for pics of the plot and also the final design. It's taken a few months working with the architect and a last minute flip of the full downstairs layout as we had realised (in spending lots of time at the plot recently) we neede d the lounge at the north side to  capture the views up the valley to the NE. Last minute we added a bay window to that room also, I was trying to avoid anything like that so we could reduce cost by keeping the walls and junctions simple but I think it was something we might regret

 

Hence, thanks to all for the input on the design so far about dormers, rooms above garages and so forth it has all been very helpful. Going in for planning this week, which we are hoping will be uneventful as planning has already been granted, we are just changing the house design. 

 

(Design attached as JPG and PDF) 

 

final.pdf

[nod]

Nice plot

Great views 

[Russell griffiths]

How did you get consent to build on there. 

[ProDave]

27 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

How did you get consent to build on there. 

I wondered that.  It does not appear to meet any of the exceptions to the no building in the countryside that we have here.

[Mr Punter]

Very very impressive.  House and plot look great.  A shame Ayrshire is north of Watford!

[SuperJohnG]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

How did you get consent to build on there. 

 

38 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I wondered that.  It does not appear to meet any of the exceptions to the no building in the countryside that we have here.

 

@Russell griffiths @ProDave

 

It is a semi long story and I have included a quote from a previous post below. But in short it has planning permission already which has commenced.

 

The land was purchased by the previous landowner some 25 years, at which point he gained planning permission for a single dwelling with and Agricultural tie in 1997 . He lived in a farm attached to that land and had thought that in years to come he would sell the farm and move closer to town and build a house here. Around 2000 the planning was due to expire, hence he contacted LA and said he would do a number of things to 'commence the development' which included doing access, putting road into plot, completing all the planting and landscaping, sightlines and part laid some foundations., the council agreed this would suffice and then he undertook the above and wrote to the council to say it was completed at which point they wrote back and confirmed they were happy and it was now fully granted or whatever the term is. 

 

19 years passes and after numerous failed attempts as per below, I hooked up with him. In between times he had sold farm and built a passivhaus up the hill. He was quite willing to sell me the land and was very supportive of self build. He had planned to move there eventually but realised he wasn't ever going to do it and his daughters weren't interested in self build.

 

In the first instance, after meeting him, I contacted council (not knowing about above letters) Ayrshire LA are even less keen on building in countryside than further North so I wanted to check if I would get planning. It was in the rural diversification zone, but the DPO basically said there was zero chance I would get planning for a residential home. I was gutted, went back to the seller and told him I couldn't get planning. At which point he showed me the letters, saying it was fine (he was very very wise to get it all in writing) I called LA back, and they confirmed yes I could build the original house which was granted without issue (subject to building warrant approval). One fly in the ointment was that it had an Agricutural tie which meant I couldn't raise the right value for the mortgage, hence I had to remove this. The LA advised me to remove the TIE (and told me how to do it)  prior to purchase, once removed complete purchase and then apply for a change of house design. I removed the tie in December, completed purchase in February and now we are submitting house design change this week.  

 

 

Here is my post from another thread: (it was a how did you find your plot thread)

 

'I mostly scoured Google maps and drive around the local area. I limited myself very tightly to our small town as that where we wanted to stay. 

 

I had 7 goes of writing letters, approaching people, chasing up possibly for sale plots. I got quite far with the 7th lady who was offering 0.6 acres for 140k unserviced.  300m from main road. I went through the full budget cycle for utilities etc. Decided it wasnt worth that and offered 85k. She wasnt impressed..by this point  I was fed up.

I posted a Facebook request looking for any land or someone else who was interested in building. 

 

My mates wife hooked me up with her dad...who I was meant to meet up witha year previous but we never did.

 

Lovely man and now we are just finalising purchase of 4 acres with exisitng PP from 25 years ago. Where theoretically the development had commenced. He sold it to me for half or a third what he could have got open market...just because he was similar to me 25 years ago and wanted the same. (He built one of the first UK passivhauses). He made ten times what he paid so a good deal all round...moral of the story dont give up.'

[ProDave]

How did you remove the agricultural tie?  I thought that was hard to remove?

 

It is certainly good that he "started" and got written proof of that.

[SuperJohnG]

6 minutes ago, ProDave said:

How did you remove the agricultural tie?  I thought that was hard to remove?

 

It is certainly good that he "started" and got written proof of that.

@ProDave

It was very easy to remove. Applied to have that condition removed as it was stopping me gaining finance to complete the house and also that they are unfit for purpose as per a letter from the chief planner back in 2011 to all planning departments. 

 

Agricultural ties are generally found to be unfit for purpose and are now very very rarely used. 

 

They are quite happy to remove these without issue these days, as it essentially causes financial issues for the owners.

 

I have however seen the AG tie used for developers locally to bend the rules.  By starting "farms" they got planningn where they wouldn't normally then once built they have the tie removed as they need to remortgage  to invest in the farm and grow it. Then once removed...then shut the farm down..sell the house for massive profit.

 

 

All the trees you see in the picture were had planted 25 years ago by the guy it's all really nicely done with all the road and sight lines etc. There is actually a road through that plot but you cant see it as it has grown over.

Edited April 15, 2020 by SuperJohnG

[ProDave]

You do have interesting development potential there.  With the ag tie gone, you can justifiably say the whole plot is your "garden ground" (as long as you don't sub divide it with fences. 

 

One of the exceptions up here that does allow building in the countryside is if the land is already "garden ground"  So I quite easilly see later on the potential should you so wish for at least 2 more self build plots there, if you didn't mind having neighbours.

[SuperJohnG]

20 minutes ago, ProDave said:

You do have interesting development potential there.  With the ag tie gone, you can justifiably say the whole plot is your "garden ground" (as long as you don't sub divide it with fences. 

 

One of the exceptions up here that does allow building in the countryside is if the land is already "garden ground"  So I quite easilly see later on the potential should you so wish for at least 2 more self build plots there, if you didn't mind having neighbours.

 

We have thought about that and certainly never say never, however for the foreseeable future it will be for us and the kids to grow up and enjoy the freedom and quiet life. Maybe in 20 or 30 years we can build a bungalow there and the kids could have the main house. 

[ProDave]

It is certainly nice to have that flexibility.

 

One thing I would say is fit a treatment plant, not a septic tank.  I don't know if you have done percolation tests yet, but it would not surprise me if that land has a high water table.  A treatment plant offers more options.

[SuperJohnG]

7 minutes ago, ProDave said:

It is certainly nice to have that flexibility.

 

One thing I would say is fit a treatment plant, not a septic tank.  I don't know if you have done percolation tests yet, but it would not surprise me if that land has a high water table.  A treatment plant offers more options.

 

No percolation tests yet, I'm changing ti to a treatment plant (I have preliminary selected a Biopure unit) and asking to discharge directly to the burn for foul and surface water. 

 

It will have a high table as we are the low point in that valley which is on a hill. Hence the burn running through. We have to get a borehole too, so I'm hoping clean water is not too deep for that reason! 

[Redoctober]

Lovely looking plot and a interesting project. I shall look forward to seeing this one unfold. Thanks also for sharing the info regarding the Ag Tie and having it removed. I'm sure this will be of benefit to some who may find themselves being restricted by such measures. Good luck.

[SuperJohnG]

1 hour ago, Redoctober said:

Lovely looking plot and a interesting project. I shall look forward to seeing this one unfold. Thanks also for sharing the info regarding the Ag Tie and having it removed. I'm sure this will be of benefit to some who may find themselves being restricted by such measures. Good luck.

thanks @Redoctober

I've got fleming homes on the shortlist for supply of the kit, based on the good reports from your blog.  

 

If anyone does want more information I happy to share the advice from the LA and the letter form the Chief planner.

 

 

[Eileen]

One thing to watch out for - we also built on a virgin plot so my wife (Eileen that is, as this is her husband writing), who did the garden design, was very keen. However, we found that some quite large areas had been really trashed by the groundworkers. Having moved away the topsoil at the start it was then pushed back, but beneath it the sub-soil was very compacted and had lost all its structure and if we dig into the topsoil we often find puddles underneath. As a result, several trees have died, although we did belatedly dig some drainage trenches near them. I guess we should have kept a closer eye and had them do a bit of breaking up of the subsoil before re-laying the top soil, but of course everyone was rushing in a mid-December period. BTW I'm not the gardener so this is a layman's description!