out buildings and permitted development

[piggylet]

Hiya really hope someone can help.
After having 2 side extension planning applications fail (advised to withdraw both of them). Nasty nasty neighbours objecting to everything and anything then bragging about being able to influence the planning committee (we saw most of them at the neighbours house having tea and biscuits) We have decided to go down the permitted development route. We know we can build a 3m rear single storey kitchen extension. However that would mean we have to remove our conservatory. We would like to know if we could recycle the conservatory and use it as an out building. It would be detatched from the rear extension by approx 1m and be 2.5m high in total. We have measured the back garden and calculated that the proposed 3m kitchen extension and outbuilding along with our detatched existing garage would be 43% of total back garden area. Any advice would be much appreciated. Many Thanks piggylet

 

[^woody^]

Yes you can recycle the conservatory, but it still needs to confirm to the PD rules.

I can't understand why you can't just redesign the extensions. You are incorrect in thinking that neighbour complaints can influence planning decisions. Likewise, basic extensions do not go to planning committee, but are dealt with under delegated powers by planners.

If your extension conforms to the local policy, then it must be approved. You must have had some outlandish extension designs for them not to be approved

 

[piggylet]

Nope our plans were far from outrageous. It basically all came down to drive way access on the first application. This was sorted on the second attempt by providing a 6m long by 3.5m wide drive way and a parking area of 6m by 3m at front of house. The extension was single storey and was going to be passed delegated right up till the 11th hour after the planning officer visited our nasty neighbour. we were then told that the second application could be passed as long as we accepted certain conditions that basically gave our neighbour a strip of land approx 1m wide and the full length of our drive and reduced the width of our extension making it impossible for us to use it as intended. I know it sounds totally bizarre but it is the truth. This is why we are now going down the PD route to get our extension built to the rear of our house rather than the side.

 

[luisdesign]

Permitted development can also be used to build a side extension. Assuming you can design an appropriate one you could really annoy your neighbour by threatening an extension they have absolutely no way of stopping!

Of course, they could still cause you trouble under the party wall act... and i expect they will.

 

[piggylet]

Yep that was another of the threats (from neighbours) that they would never agree on the party wall act excavating within 3m of the boundary wall and cost us a fortune till we had no money left to do the build. I really don't want to annoy the neighbours (they hate us enough as it is.. we are not posh ... they think they are). does anyone know of any rules we would be breaking by creating an out building thats a metre away from the rear extension made from dwarf brick walls and double glazed units on top with glass roof total height of 2.5m approx taking up 15msq. It would be a distance of 6m away from boundary of nasty neighbour. we are so fed up with all the planning set backs, criteria, conditions, and piggin hoops of fire to jump through. It has taken over 12 months of running around and ammending drawings to get this far which has got us nothing.

 

[luisdesign]

The party wall act cannot be used to prevent development. In other words as long as you have all the necessary plans, details and approvals in order then they cannot "disagree" with the award.

They will of course choose to select their own party wall surveyor, and will probably try to inflate your costs on that - but then you would be in for costs there anyway

They can however try to claim that damage was caused to their property / or that they are in some way due compensation for things that your builders are claimed to have done.

All of this would be presuming of course that the works are subject to the party wall act.

You will need to make sure you get a good batch of professional contractors.

 

[^woody^]

The PWA wont apply if you

- keep the wall 10mm in from the boundary
- "assume" that foundations within 3m of neighbours foundations are not deeper than theirs.

Also there is no case of "agreeing" or otherwise to the PWA, or using it to stop any work

Have you been properly advised by clued up professionals, with all these shenanigans?

 

[luisdesign]

Have you been properly advised by clued up professionals, with all these shenanigans?

Agreed, you need to seek proper advice from someone who can assess all of the facts and details in one place and be able to supply you with contextual info.

 

[piggylet]

Yes we have taken advice from professionals. The problem is with the excavating within 3m of the boundary and proving that we will not go deeper than neighbours detatched garage footings.We don't want to waste money on petty arguing thru solicitors and surveyors. However this is now by the by as we have been told today by planning dept that we can do a 3m PD rear extension and recycle conservatory as an out building. We would much rather do that than enter into any legal arguments regarding whether or not the PWA applies. We know that neighbour will try to be as awkward as possible during the build but we have learnt to ignore them and just work round them.Thankyou to all who replied to my post the advice is much appreciated. Will probably have some laughable stories in the next few months about the torch bearing angry mob antics when we start doing the build.

 

[^woody^]

Yes we have taken advice from professionals. The problem is with the excavating within 3m of the boundary ....

I wonder if you have got proper advice? There is a difference between knowledge of the PWA by someone who knows about it, and someone who just clicks a link to the PW pamphlet and sees 3m mentioned

The 3m is not to the boundary, but to the foundation trench of the nearest relevant building. This relevant building may well be on the boundary, but even so its possible to build right next to a building without needing to invoke the PWA

It may not help you now, but others reading this should not let [fear of] the PWA prevent them building the extension they want