The whirlwind has started!

[Red Kite]

Hi, we just wanted to introduce ourselves and our Red Kite mascot. Our Kite is a life size steel sculpture made by a blacksmith in Pembrokeshire - started out bright steel but is now rusting nicely to a lovely red kite colour. We love it, and its carefully mounted on a temporary post in anticipation of the demolition of our scuzzy 60's bungalow and moving to our snazzy self-build.  

 

Well now at last we can join the ranks of the Self Builders - after a 4 year battle we FINALLY  won our second Appeal and have Planning Permission (we just can't stop grinning). We can't tell you what a relief this is: 4 years of 'life on hold' and at the whim of an inordinate number of stupid Willy Wonkas who seem to have either egos the size of a planet or brains the size of plankton. Planning has been a complete nightmare and is worthy of a blog post in its own right - a combination of a painfully slow and inconsistent LPA (6 planning officers and counting), being surrounded by some truly VILE neighbours (105 letters of objection!) and vicious local politics with an 'interesting' planning committee ( we made three appearances and vowed 'never again'). So a combination of  1 pre -app (complete waste of time and money), 3 CofL's , 4  Planning apps and  2 Appeals (both with officer approval and rejection by committee),  we are there and we can finally move from Dreaming the Build to Building the Dream. It is, as they say, water (and a lot of money) under the bridge, and we are trying to put it behind us but as anyone out there who has been through it will know, it has been a truly unpleasant experience.

 

But now this is where the really EXCITING whirlwind starts - the pace just seems to accelerate, and sure the storm is just starting to build up. So far lots of meeting with Architects, SE's, Timber Frame vendors, Window makers, Money men, Accountants, Services, Groundworkers etc etc. As yet no decisions on build route or construction method but accumulating lots of information, reading this excellent Forum, picking brains and thinking a bit.

 

The plan is to build two contemporary, lowish energy houses and live in the bigger one. The challenges are a sloping clay site with tricky drainage, building into the slope,  and a bungalow that we are itching to move out of and demolish!

 

We will try and keep up with a few progress posts and a pose a few interesting questions to the knowledgeable community out there. We are on the Gloucestershire / Wiltshire border so if there members nearby we would love to see what you are doing.

 

Oh and by the way did we say we are just so EXCITED to be building!!!!! We am sure Self Building will have its lows but its hard to imagine it being worse that 4 years of Planning misery.

[Russell griffiths]

Hi, would be interested to know how close you are, we are in the Cotswold water park, just below Cirencester. 

[DreamHouseDreamer]

Hi and welcome, as a fellow newbie to both self building and this amazing forum!

 

Your red kite is super cool - what a lovely idea. 

 

We too are grinning much of the time, having got our approval on 20 December 2018!   Still several more planning related hoops for us to jump through as we have on the back of the first approval submitted another application for the adjoining garage, and a separate one to get several conditions that needing meeting before we are allowed to start work signed off.  The council officer dealing with the CIL is still toying with us, too - despite forms being submitted first week of last October. 

 

Our other frustrations and ongoing negotiations include dealing with UK Power Networks to get our electricity supply sorted - we may be forced to go 3 phase as it seems their engineers cannot get their heads around the concept of an energy positive house, that would need very little other supply, however demanding of power anything inside the house may happen to be!

 

We thought our planning process was grim, but your experiences (and others we have read about or had described to us) are worse.  It took us 3 years for a much simpler process, it was the waiting and waiting and waiting to hear that we found frustrating mostly.  We had to complete a CofL as well, and they kept on coming back for more and more info over months.  Then someone eventually paid a visit and the officer said, oh yes, somebody's clearly living here and is well established, and we got it in days.  Nearly 6 months to get a Pre App formal written response complaining about everything you can think of, many of which were imagined.  At least we were able to shoot all of those non existent issues down easily by demonstrating with photos their irrelevance. 

 

I look forward to following your progess.

 

DHDreamer

[newhome]

Welcome to BuildHub and congrats on finally getting your PP after what sounds like a complete nightmare. The only way is up now hopefully! You say that you are building 2 houses and intend to live in the larger one. What do you intend to do with the smaller one? Will it be built at the same time as the first one or after you have completed your main home? As you have mentioned an accountant I assume they will have gone through the various obligations you have in relation to CGT plus being eligible to claim a VAT refund (or not on the second house at least, or both if the second house is to be used as a business) but if you don't mind sharing what you've been told to help others on here who may be in a similar position that would be great. We don't get too many people here who are insane enough planning to build 2 houses at the same time 

 

[vivienz]

Welcome, congratulations, and brace yourselves.

 

As part of your research, get some quotes on the cost of muckaway. We're building on clay and as it's hard to get rid of, sufficiently expensive to be taken into account in your initial budget.

[Red Kite]

We  have looked into  the tax position and are seeing the accountant on Wednesday so will add more  after that, Our son is thinking of buying the 2nd house  so we may sell him the plot adn then he is a self builder so can get VAT back.

[recoveringbuilder]

Welcome, glad you are full of enthusiasm and long may it continue! Don’t understand the why you would be having three phas electric though?