Advice needed

[Woodycity]

Hi everyone, first post so be gentle!,

We have been given conditional approval by building regulations on our proposed double rear extension, we were due to have a decision from planning on 27/10/20 but instead we received this email via our Architect below, does this mean our existing plans are dead in the water? , the reason we chose to have the design the way it is, is to grab as much space as we could in the new bedroom for our daughter, we back onto the woods too if this makes any difference/not overlooked, just neighbours either side, all new proposals greatly reduce the the size of the bedroom so I don’t want to build if that’s the case,  feedback greatly appreciated,

 

 

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I am the planning officer assessing the application submitted at the above address.  

 

Whilst it is appreciated that the chamfered corner to the extension is proposed on order to meet our SPD guidance on neighbour amenity, the resulting design is somewhat compromised and we would prefer to see the proposed extension brought in from the side elevation, so that it both complies with the SPD in terms of amenity as well as design and avoids the need for such a significant chamfered corner.

 

The sign off officer has mentioned that, due to the kitchen having both front and rear elevation windows, the rear elevation kitchen window could be blocked off without being unacceptable in amenity terms for the occupants of the application property. 

 

Please can you speak with your clients and let me know their thoughts and what amendments they may be prepared to make?

 

Kind regards, 

James 

 

(By Ferdinand: Wrong version of attachments removed at user request. Issue is address identification not an error in the enquiry, so responses still valid. Anonymised version to be added in further post downthread if OP chooses.) 

[Mr Punter]

Would it be terrible to move the kitchen window over 700mm or so and shift the whole thing along?

[Woodycity]

13 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

Would it be terrible to move the kitchen window over 700mm or so and shift the whole thing along?

Hi thanks for the feedback, Not completely terrible, the issue with that is the area of 700mm where the window would be moving to is now where all the pipes go upstairs, inside (water)and outside (bathroom) -there is literally no space for them to be allocated anywhere along the same wall as far as I can see,  we can’t leave out the rear kitchen window as it’s L shaped and with only the one small window at the front I’m pretty sure we’d be plunged into a kitchen with hardly any natural light,  also have 700mm of some weird space down the side of the house and to the neighbours fence? I don’t know ?‍♂️ 

[Mr Punter]

It is hard to see without seeing more of the plan or elevation.  I think you will need to alter this or get refused planning.

 

You could move this to the right, reduce the depth etc.  Is that a door to the kitchen?  Can it be glazed?  You will probably need to move some pipework but it should not be a huge issue.  What does your architect suggest?

[DevilDamo]

Firstly, if you decided to proceed with the BR drawings without having first obtained Planning approval, then that is a risk you took. If Planning requests changes to the scheme, then those changes would need to be reflected on the BR drawings, potentially resulting in additional architectural costs.

 

Secondly, have you (or your architect) considered having a cantilevered first floor so the left hand wall comes away by up to 1m above the wall below? This could prove helpful if you end up having to pull the right hand wall away from the boundary in order to avoid any angled walls. You could also look to reduce the depth from 4m to 3.5m that will also help in maximising the width.