Greenbelt - extension

[sokoma]

Hi everyone,

 

We are about to embark on a extension, loft conversion and refurbishment in a house located on greenbelt. 

 

We had few questions:

1) what is the best strategy to increase the maximum footprint (PP or PD)?

2) Can you do a double or 1.5 storey extension with PD?

3) Our garage is single storey, attached to the house.  How can we build above it without blocking view of the greenbelt ?

 

Thanks!

[twice round the block]

Just get a good architect to do a design your happy with, and that he can get through planning. 

[Onoff]

Worth a quick play on ChatGPT. See this thread here:

 

 

[sokoma]

Thanks - chatgpt looks interesting!

[Tetrarch]

4 hours ago, sokoma said:

Hi everyone,

 

We are about to embark on a extension, loft conversion and refurbishment in a house located on greenbelt. 

 

We had few questions:

1) what is the best strategy to increase the maximum footprint (PP or PD)?

2) Can you do a double or 1.5 storey extension with PD?

3) Our garage is single storey, attached to the house.  How can we build above it without blocking view of the greenbelt ?

 

Thanks!

 

I see you're in a fictional town in Kent. It really can depend on your LA (and if you're in Sevenoaks then buckle up). We had a three year fight with ours but all's well that ends well...

 

We are in GB and the rule that our LA used was a 50% uplift from the 1948 footprint. Our initial plan was rejected because it was too much of an uplift ~28 sq m

 

After a failed appeal we applied for a really ugly PD plan with an uplift of 31 sq m that was duly approved

 

We then reapplied with a (slightly different) 28 sq m extension using "less harmful to GB than PD" as our Special Circumstance that was duly approved

 

It can be done, but be prepared for a fight. 

 

Regards

 

Tet

 

 

[kandgmitchell]

5 hours ago, sokoma said:

1) what is the best strategy to increase the maximum footprint (PP or PD)?

2) Can you do a double or 1.5 storey extension with PD?

3) Our garage is single storey, attached to the house.  How can we build above it without blocking view of the greenbelt ?

 

1) Imposible to say. It would depend on whether the planning authority had a specific policy on extensions in the green belt. That may limit your design if planning approval was required but not if you chose the PD route, but then there are restrictions on PD extensions. It really does depend on what you want out of the extended dwelling.

2) Yes but only on the back, out to 3m and no less than 7m from the rear boundary.

3) Greenbelt is a land use classification which has more restrictions than normal land. It doesn't imply that there is a good view or indeed any view. I know a good few carparks and industrial estates that lay in what is now designated greenbelt.

[Onoff]

20 minutes ago, Tetrarch said:

(and if you're in Sevenoaks then buckle up)

 

Tell me about it!

[Tony L]

If you can get what you want from PD, I'd say that's a better route than PP.  The council can refuse PP just because they don't like your design, or because they want you to continue living in a small house.  They might refuse PP, even if they would have had to grant a cert of lawful development, had you used the same drawings to apply for a PD cert.

 

I got an agreement on a grotesque PD design before eventually compromising with the council on a design that was accepted under PP.  There was a lot of back & forth.  It took a long time.   I let my architect go after attending a pre-application meeting with him & two people from the planning dept.  I could see I was in for a long argument with the council & I couldn't afford to keep him on.   I did the rest of the drawings myself.  My first completely new design was rejected.  I ended up with a heavily modified version of my second design.  I can't remember exactly how much I ended up paying the LA: it was definitely £500 for the meeting with the architect & LA, about £400 for the PP application (possibly two of these), perhaps £100 for the PD cert.  The planning case officer wasn't charging me for his advice, each time I presented new drawings & said, "Well how about if I submit this?".

 

The LA are happy with a quite low standard of drawing for PP.  You don't need good drawings until you get to the building reg.s stage.  If I'd been using an architect to draw up every new idea I submitted in my battle to achieve PP, the process would have been prohibitively expensive.  The developers on the plot right next door to me were using an architect & they had to settle for building a much smaller house than they'd expected to build because they didn't want to keep paying their architect to deal with the planners.  I think the council could see that I wasn't going to give up & it wasn't costing me anything other than my time to continue the argument, & this counted in my favour.  

 

I used the attached document to help learn about PD rules.  This was a good few years ago & I don't think the PD rules have changed since the document was published, but you should check.

Part-1-of-the-GPDO-The-10-Worst-Permitted-Development-Loopholes.pdf

[DevilDamo]

1. It depends on what is/was the original house footprint.

2. Only to the rear and providing you comply with the other PD requirements.

3. Assume you’re referring to the Garage being on the side? If so, anything above it will require Planning and you would ultimately lose those GB views. But the question may be whether you “need to” extend there. An architectural designer may be able to advise on a suitable design option which helps meet all yours and the LPA’s requirements.