Oz07 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) I wouldn't worry about public comments they hold next to no weight unless they quote planning policies. Not sure if a certain number in your district puts you into comittiee territory? Having not seen the application vs old one i'd say your worrying for nowt. Planning wouldn't want to refuse then have you win at appeal. Agree the planning system needs a shakeup. Perhaps they can trial a new system in these new towns where each plot has outline permission for a house of maximum size and maximum stories. Design is completely upto owner. Have some basic overlooking rules perhaps. Edited December 21, 2019 by Oz07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 45 minutes ago, Oz07 said: Perhaps they can trial a new system in these new towns where each plot has outline permission for a house of maximum size and maximum stories. Design is completely upto owner. I think they did that at Graven Hill? Certainly seemed to indicate that on Grand Designs. You wouldn’t get away with that in Edinburgh however. It seems bizarre to me that a single storey dwelling that could be pretty much hidden and had only 1 objection was refused whereas a 2 storey dwelling with many objections was passed. Your original design was perfect for an elderly resident I thought. Are we only allowed to build family homes these days? I doubt that the objections will matter too much to the planners in truth. If your design is similar to the one passed previously I don’t see what objections the planners could have in truth. Out of interest has the person who obtained the original PP for their garden plot objected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted December 21, 2019 Author Share Posted December 21, 2019 Someone bought the house and refurbished it. They then sold it minus part of the garden which they had obtained permission to build a house on. The new owners were the only people who objected to the single storey house even though we already gave permission to build a two storey house. Apparently they cited that it would hurt the value of their house which was ignored. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Well at least it isn't the original folk who sold you the plot who are complaining but nothing would surprise me .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 22 hours ago, AliG said: It seems to me that the planning system would actually be more efficient if planners were more willing to engage in discussion with people to let them know what was and was not acceptable. It very definitely would be. The first plot we were looking to buy was challenging, mainly because, although it was around 1/3rd of an acre the space available to put a house on it was very limited. Luckily, the planning officer was very helpful, drove over to meet us at the plot and talk through what we wanted and what he felt would be acceptable. In the space of about an hour on site we had a pretty clear idea of what we probably could and could not do. Sadly it seems that this is very much the exception rather than the rule, as planning officers just don't seem to have the time to do this any more. It's a pity, as I suspect that if they made a bit of time available up front like this, they may well save a great deal more time later in the process. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 >discussion Ford Prefect on human communication - apropos of not very much, and perhaps irrelevant (but it is Saturday). "One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious, as in It's a nice day, or You're very tall, or Oh dear you seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you alright? At first Ford had formed a theory to account for this strange behaviour. If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize up. After a few months' consideration and observation he abandoned this theory in favour of a new one. If they don't keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working. After a while he abandoned this one as well as being obstructively cynical." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 (edited) Not really enjoying this situation. Spoke to the planning consultant today as the 2 month planning determination deadline is up on Monday and thought that he may have heard from the planner to ask for an extension. The planner spoke to him before Christmas and said that he would visit the site in January to get an idea of things. Of course this means that he turned down our previous application just looking at it on paper, but that is par for the course. The question I asked is should we just appeal on non determination straight away as planning will otherwise waste our time. He said that if we do that they will send it back to go to committee first and we will have to wait for that anyway. The issue is the complete lack of feedback. The planner told him that if there was an issue with the application he would come back to him, maybe the fact we haven't heard is good news or maybe he just hasn't started to look at it yet. Now the consultant says the planner has stopped responding to emails or phone calls. The consultant said that he will continue trying and may even pay him a personal visit if he cannot get him on the phone. Without any feedback we have no idea if there is an issue or not. So I said let's give it a week and see if he is leaning towards recommending approval or recommending rejection, but we need to be able to actually contact him to know this. If we had sensible feedback previously we would have quite happily designed something that took this into consideration. We have taken into consideration the feedback that we do have which amounts to three sentences in an email. Meanwhile the existing approval will eventually run out so we are now going to have to do something to lock that in as I frankly don't trust that it will get extended. Luckily for a modest cost we can make a start and lock it in forever. I think this may also put the wind up some of the locals who probably think that they can stop anything happening by dragging out the situation. My parents are at a loss to understand how the system can drag on for so long with no consideration for them, I knew it would be slow, but they struggle with the notion that you can already have planning permission and just want to change it and that you can pay out a lot in design fees and planning fees and then get nowhere. The planners will claim that they are busy and I know that they are, but the planning fee for a single house is around £1000, if I paid out £1000 for any commercial work I would expect something back in return. Edited January 24, 2020 by AliG 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 25 minutes ago, AliG said: The question I asked is should we just appeal on non determination straight away as planning will otherwise waste our time. He said that if we do that they will send it back to go to committee first and we will have to wait for that anyway. Unfortunately appeals also take a long time. There is usually enough time for the council to come to a decision before the appeal gets to be heard. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200207/appeals/110/making_an_appeal/2 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-average-timescales-for-arranging-inquiries-and-hearings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 I have nothing good to say about council planning. All tossers. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 25 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said: I have nothing good to say about council planning. All tossers. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 Permission Granted ? Full steam ahead now, hoping to get watertight before Christmas 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 15 minutes ago, AliG said: Permission Granted ? Full steam ahead now, hoping to get watertight before Christmas Great news! It’s been a long time coming! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 16 minutes ago, AliG said: Permission Granted ? Full steam ahead now, hoping to get watertight before Christmas Congratulations! Did you have to make any changes in the end? How have they explained the delay? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 (edited) No changes, I read the neighbours objections yesterday.They almost universally hate the modern box design and said it doesn't fit in the street. If they didn't like modern boxes they probably should have objected to the two that were approved a few months ago in the same street. I expected neighbours to object, so I don't really care. However, the local amenity association objected yet didn't object to the other houses recently approved in the street which also breach the guidelines for coverage of the site. They also objected to my house as it was the largest built in the area since the 1920s, I am yet to figure out how they think that is a planning issue. I have been considering writing to them to ask if they actually have any objective process or simply only comment when it upsets one of their mates. No explanation of the delay, the guy we were dealing with is just painfully slow. I saw someone apply to build a lock of flats in their garden get permission faster than we did. The architect was talking about making a formal complaint last year when the same officer didn't speak to us at all for 5 months then said he was going to refuse our application unless we withdrew it. Edited June 26, 2020 by AliG 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 1 hour ago, AliG said: No changes, I read the neighbours objections yesterday.They almost universally hate the modern box design and said it doesn't fit in the street. If they didn't like modern boxes they probably should have objected to the two that were approved a few months ago in the same street. I expected neighbours to object, so I don't really care. However, the local amenity association objected yet didn't object to the other houses recently approved in the street which also breach the guidelines for coverage of the site. They also objected to my house as it was the largest built in the area since the 1920s, I am yet to figure out how they think that is a planning issue. I have been considering writing to them to ask if they actually have any objective process or simply only comment when it upsets one of their mates. No explanation of the delay, the guy we were dealing with is just painfully slow. I saw someone apply to build a lock of flats in their garden get permission faster than we did. The architect was talking about making a formal complaint last year when the same officer didn't speak to us at all for 5 months then said he was going to refuse our application unless we withdrew it. Took me 5 years . You got there ! Have you thought about glazing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 34 minutes ago, pocster said: Have you thought about glazing ? We will be using an MBC frae and they can supply and fit Rationel windows. However, at the back of the house we have 2x 2.6m tall sliding doors and Rationel cannot make a door that size, because of this we may have to use Internorm or MBC use Solarlux for larger windows, but I suspect that they are expensive. I think Ideal Combi can also do 2.6m and Nordan 2.588m. I have asked the architect for a window schedule so that we can send it out and see how much this issue is going to cost us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 7 minutes ago, AliG said: We will be using an MBC frae and they can supply and fit Rationel windows. However, at the back of the house we have 2x 2.6m tall sliding doors and Rationel cannot make a door that size, because of this we may have to use Internorm or MBC use Solarlux for larger windows, but I suspect that they are expensive. I think Ideal Combi can also do 2.6m and Nordan 2.588m. I have asked the architect for a window schedule so that we can send it out and see how much this issue is going to cost us. Yes that is excellent. But I was more leaning towards those wow factor type things - that don't need to cost the earth you know. For example ( off the top of my head ) some walk on glazing perhaps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 1 minute ago, pocster said: Yes that is excellent. But I was more leaning towards those wow factor type things - that don't need to cost the earth you know. For example ( off the top of my head ) some walk on glazing perhaps? The Dungeon Master's pedalling his wares again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Just now, Onoff said: The Dungeon Master's pedalling his wares again! A man that misses an opportunity is not a man. He is a pigeon. "Olde proverb from Brizzle" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Demolition work on the garage on site started today. Presumably I should really do a blog rather than a series of posts this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 (edited) The final plans are ready. The kitchen and bathrooms are not the final designs yet, but pretty close. floor plan.pdf Edited August 13, 2020 by AliG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 After the whole fiasco with the water main here are our new amended plans. We had to make the hall smaller but luckily it was very large to begin with. We had to lose a hundred mil off a couple of the rooms also, but the upstairs bedroom/drawing room actually got larger when the hall got smaller. In a developer built house it would probably be another two bedrooms, but my mum wants another lounge as they don't need more than two bedrooms really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 Original plans for comparison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Not end of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted July 15, 2021 Author Share Posted July 15, 2021 Yes the redesign is minor, it’s the wasted time and stress that’s the problem. There is also the matter of extra costs due to the timing. Luckily we can cover them, for some people it would probably be a deal breaker. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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