Convert Our 'Old Garage' into Dwelling

[dr_no]

We have 0.55 acre plot with our house and an old detached farm building/garage.
It is in the country (500m outside the village). There are a few houses either side of us.

This garage is approx 1000 sq ft footprint. I have made a sketch : )

The blue line is the current boundary of existing house(E) and garage (G).
The red line is the separate dwelling boundary (approx 50m long), from garden F and back garden B.

Shared drive is D.

It has 2 walls of double brick and 2 walls of 'timber frame', roof is tiled.
General condition is OK - dry etc It already has connections for electric, mains wate and foul water.


I'd like to get PP for conversion to a separate dwelling.

There should be plenty of space for parking and separate gardens etc.

I believe the garage is not classified as anything so it could be considered as a former agricultural building or just classed as a garage now.

I could do a pre-planning meeting (£550) - but I think I need 1 or 2 approaches set out, first. They won't tell me what to do only comment on my proposals, right?

I think under the local plan they are ok with sound rural buildings being converted to dwellings IF they don't require re-build - so I think I need to demonstrate that the structure is good enough - so it's not 'falling down' lol

BUT maybe as a 'garage conversion' the rules are different - so a rebuild of 1 or 2 walls (if required) may not be a problem.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[dr_no]

Just to clarify - everything inside the blue line is ours - it is our drive, our garage and our house.

The red line is our proposal - to convert garage to separate independent dwelling - we would share the drive between our existing house and the new house (former garage)

 

[jeds]

I don’t see any immediate issue. Losing an amount of floor area to accommodate the thickness of new insulated walls etc. you should end up with approximately 75² - 76m². That will give you a 2 bed - 4 person house or you could squeeze a 3 bed house but you don’t gain any more persons – i.e. it would be a 3b - 4p house. That’s just a rough estimate so you really need to work that out more carefully. You might get more.

A pre-application enquiry will provide you with a list of all the policies you need to comply with and any reports you might need to submit. In this case though that is pretty easy to work out yourself so, if it were me, I would save the money.

The house will also need a minimum amount of amenity and car parking space. You should be able to determine that from local planning guidance.

PS. try searching your local planning website for dwellings approved over the last, say, 12 months. That will give you an idea of what your application should look like.

 

[Mottie]

Looks like it’s already a dwelling?

 

[dr_no]

Hi Jeds

"I don’t see any immediate issue."
That's encouraging to hear : ) I presumed there would be resistance to 'creating a new house in the countryside'.
Thanks for the advice

 

[dr_no]

Hi Mottie

"Looks like it’s already a dwelling?"
Ha ha - yes it's been built to look like a little house already but behind those cute windows and door it's just a a big dusty old garage : )

 

[jeds]

Hi Jeds

"I don’t see any immediate issue."
That's encouraging to hear : ) I presumed there would be resistance to 'creating a new house in the countryside'.
Thanks for the advice

Ordinarily you'd be right, but rules are less stringent for existing footprints within existing settlements. If there is resistance to a separate dwelling, an alternative route is an annex and then sit on it.

 

[dr_no]

Ordinarily you'd be right, but rules are less stringent for existing footprints within existing settlements. If there is resistance to a separate dwelling, an alternative route is an annex and then sit on it.

We are outside the village - 500m away from the nearest house.
Yes the annex route I understand is not much of a problem.
When you say 'sit on it' - do you mean create the annex and then apply later for change of use?

 

[^woody^]

There is currently a housing shortage. Consult your council's local plan.

Any annex, if that is ever approved so far from the main house, will likely be conditioned for it to remain as such. Planners are wise to such tactics.

The layout does not seem to preclude a conversion, there is access, parking and garden space. But refer to your local planning policies for the required criteria for new homes.

 

[dr_no]

I've talked to a few professionals and decided to go down the "Permission in principle" route - which I think will get me to a full approval status (assuming the 'design' is reasonable) without having to draw up plans etc. The pre-application enquiry route doesn't give a definite answer. I may have to submit heritage reports etc but I really want to get approval the quicklest and cheapest way. I may just sell on with approval.