Building a fence on higher ground & bungalow questions

[homemove]

Hello everyone.

Thanks for a great forum. I have currently found a property which although small in size for my 6 members family, it seems to have a lot of potential to extend due to it's large garden and is almost south-west facing with plenty of sunshine.

Firstly, here are the pictures:-

FRONT-VIEW - http://www.tiikoni.com/tis/view/?id=ea94d60
GARAGE VIEW - http://www.tiikoni.com/tis/view/?id=bd28bb1
SIDE VIEW - http://www.tiikoni.com/tis/view/?id=752bee9

As you will notice from the pics, the house is on a bit of a hill, which isn't a problem for us. One neighbour's detached house is higher than ours, but the next neighbour's semi-detached house is much lower.

Looking at the above photos:-

1. Since my property is higher than one neighbour, can I build a fence on both sides? If so, how high am I allowed?

2. Is it difficult to get planning permissions for single storey modern bunglow extension?

 

[homemove]

Bump!

 

[blightymam]

The normal fence height is up to 2 meters, other than that you need planning permission.
I don't think there's much on building fences on raised gardens when it comes to rules, but you can talk to your neighbour and see what they think. Depending on how much higher the fence is on their side, it could be that they lose a lot of light and they could complain. Best thing is to check with them or talk to your planning dept.

As for planning permission, I shouldn't think it would be that difficult. Depends on a lot of things, the idea/planning submitted , the surrounding area, neighbours etc and that varies from council to council. Again, talk to them.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

As for fences then as mentioned 2m from the existing ground level unless you apply for planning permission: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/fenceswallsgates/

As for extensions you can build a sizeable extension without planning permission subject to certain limits: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/extensions/ Otherwise if you wanted to go say deeper or higher than the PD rules allowed and a planning application was necessary then your application would be granted if it met Local Plan guidance but even if you stray from the guidance generally bungalow extensions are not much of a problem - as long as you don't want to do anything mad!

 

[homemove]

Thanks guys for your help.

The normal fence height is up to 2 meters, other than that you need planning permission.
I don't think there's much on building fences on raised gardens when it comes to rules, but you can talk to your neighbour and see what they think. Depending on how much higher the fence is on their side, it could be that they lose a lot of light and they could complain. Best thing is to check with them or talk to your planning dept.

As for planning permission, I shouldn't think it would be that difficult. Depends on a lot of things, the idea/planning submitted , the surrounding area, neighbours etc and that varies from council to council. Again, talk to them.

As for fences then as mentioned 2m from the existing ground level unless you apply for planning permission: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/fenceswallsgates/

As for extensions you can build a sizeable extension without planning permission subject to certain limits: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/extensions/ Otherwise if you wanted to go say deeper or higher than the PD rules allowed and a planning application was necessary then your application would be granted if it met Local Plan guidance but even if you stray from the guidance generally bungalow extensions are not much of a problem - as long as you don't want to do anything mad!

Did you see the SIDE-VIEW pictures in first post? Can you see the ground-level? That's where I plan to build a 5ft fench to not only give us privacy, but also stop us seeing the neighbour's bedrooms which is where our ground level currently is.

I know I originally said an extension, but I now think it might work out better to raise the bungalow's roof and to put in dormers, as it would save on garden space and may possibly be cheaper?. You said as long as I don't do anything mad, but do you think this sounds like a mad idea? I know you can't give me a concrete answer, but do you think this should be okay for the council to approve?

What kind of costs am I looking at here?

 

[blightymam]

What kind of costs am I looking at here?

To be fair, that's pretty impossible to answer. Could pluck a figure out of thin air for you if you like! But the only way to find out is to get some quotes once you know the size and exactly what you want doing. You've got the building work, the electrician, the plumber, the architect, the council costs, plasterer & decorating to name a few.

Then it also depends on where you are in the country, a builder in London is more expensive than one in say, Yorkshire.

Get some quotes!

 

[homemove]

Thanks blightymam, I understand.

Now one of the things is that this house has a water meter (something which I've never had). What can you recommend to help conserve water? I must add that I have OCD and I currently wash a lot so I'm very worried that bills might be very high.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Use less water then.

 

[blightymam]

Use less water then.

That's pretty much it!

Least it's fair, paying for what you've used

 

[Nakajo]

Fit faucet aerators to basins throughout

 

[homemove]

Thanks guys.

@freddymercurystwin and @blightymam - fair point, although I'm already aware of that, but what I was asking was what methods there are or technology to help reduce water consumption. For example how do I keep a grass lawn, flowers alive without wasting water?

@Nakajo - That's a great tip, thanks.

 

[Nakajo]

For a lawn, a drip irrigation system combined with a greywater water butt is fairly efficient.

 

[homemove]

Thanks Nakajo. The greywater butt can be bought for around £30, although it won't be needed because the current owner already has one. However how much does a drip irrigation system cost and how would this work? Would it use rainwater?

 

[Nakajo]

Rainwater irrigation isn't very useful - except as a 'top-up' (I wonder if you can think why) - and ideally water should not be stored for long periods. Greywater irrigation is more useful, but it's nice to combine it with some kind of filtration system. There are several systems on the market - but cost increases with sophistication.

 

[blightymam]

Thanks guys.

@freddymercurystwin and @blightymam - fair point, although I'm already aware of that, but what I was asking was what methods there are or technology to help reduce water consumption. For example how do I keep a grass lawn, flowers alive without wasting water?

@Nakajo - That's a great tip, thanks.

No worries! Why not have a google at different ideas on how to save water? I bet there's a ton of ideas out there on the old web.
Garden: First of all, don't use a hose. Only a watering can, it saves water tho takes flipping ages to water everything. Lawns don't need to be watered all the time, and lets face it, it's pretty rare that the UK has stupidly long hot summers. Even if the grass does start to look rough, it tends to grow back just as good. If you want a show garden, then something has to give, either you save water up from elsewhere or you spend a little.
Flowers, again, it's up to you. If you really don't want to use too much water, then plant flowering shrubs etc that will develop deeper roots in a few years, then they need less watering. Again, if you want to fill the garden with lovely flowers every summer, then you have to water them every day if it's dry. Grow veggies? At least you get something out of that watering, grins, and save at the supermarket instead!
Your home, your budget and I guess you just got to do what's right for you.