Loft plans

[Willl]

Hi, hoping for a little advice here please. I am looking to apply for planning permission for a loft conversion. We want to match what our neighbour has done in their identical property. They have kindly given us the plans that they had drawn up, submitted and approved. My question is if I can change the address on these and submit them to the council for permission? It seems crazy to get them all done again.. Looking at the plans I can’t find the company who drew them up.. there is only a name and phone number..


Thanks in advance!


Will

 

[sxturbo]

no harm to use them for a pre-planning application,

you might have to get them re-drawn to latest regs to satisfy building regs

 

[Willl]

Forgive me if I am confused but as it is a standard loft conversion I thought getting the planning permission would be pretty straight forward and I wouldn't need to do a pre planning application??

The plans were drawn up in 2011 so I'm guessing regs could have changed since then.. Excuse my ignorance but do I submit the same plans to 'planning' and 'building control'?

Many thanks,

Will

 

[sxturbo]

some loft conversions come under permitted development rights and wont need full planning, thats not the case with all though, and the council have a tendency to change what their criteria is on a regular basis.

for instance my brother was looking at doing a loft conversion that was identical to a couple of buildings down his road, however the council kicked it back and said no they have changed their criteria for his area and they are no longer permitting the same/similar anymore and was told to reduce the conversion (remove the front elevation and reduce the width of the rear) quite considerably it ended up being pointless to under take.

pre-planning application will advise you of any of the above before wasting lots of time and money.

it's also best when submitting for full planning (if required) that there is contact details of the person whom created the drawing as sometimes the council like to discuss technical details with them, and so does building control

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Your first post suggests you appear to wish to contact whoever drew up your neighbours plans yet don't seem to have sufficient information to do so? Except their name and number?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

It's probably best that the OP ignores your advice if he wants to avoid

wasting lots of time and money

 

[sxturbo]

It's probably best that the OP ignores your advice if he wants to avoid

which bits, you havnt offered any advice .

the op cant possibly rely on drawings from 10 years ago, drawn by some bloke who they likely cant get hold of.

we dont know what this conversion entails, so does he need planning permission or not? not all conversions require planning permission, but some do. so who is best to ask..... oh thats right the council.

council's DO change their acceptance criteria, so relying on something from 10 years ago isnt really the best suggestion.

could the drawings from 10 years ago include things that are no longer generally accepted, or maybe there was a mistake that wasn't picked up on the drawings but was rectified when building.

 

[Willl]

Your first post suggests you appear to wish to contact whoever drew up your neighbours plans yet don't seem to have sufficient information to do so? Except their name and number?

I thought it could be an option.. it just seems ludicrous to get plans drawn up from scratch when our properties are the same and we want to copy the conversion they have done.. I don't see why there would be any problems getting permission and that the case wouldn't need much attention from planning..?

 

[sxturbo]

I thought it could be an option.. it just seems ludicrous to get plans drawn up from scratch when our properties are the same and we want to copy the conversion they have done.. I don't see why there would be any problems getting permission and that the case wouldn't need much attention from planning..?

your just latching onto the points you want to hear.

get someone to look over the drawings, not re-draw them completely. or contact the guy who drew them and ask him to re-issue them with the relevant dates

do you know if your loft conversion comes under permitted development rights or not?

 

[johnny2007]

Here in west london they're a bit oermissive, so instead of straight away refuse your planning application, they advise on what would be required for them to look at the plans more favourably.
In fact, a lot of time they just approve tbe application subject to conditions and then ask for revised plans.
Now, IF you need planning permission, then you could submit the same plans and see what happens.
OR, submit a pre-application.
Bear in mind though, I never liked these pre-application business because it's looked at by junior officers who like to make a name for themselves and find lots of faults.
Before anyone says anything, this is my experience and in other places it may well be totally different.
Example: a customer against my advice decided to submit planning permission application for a 4.5 metre single storey rear extension which was permitted development.
They came back and said only 3 metre was allowed.
This is totally incorrect, or at least it was incorrect at the time because of the 6 metre rule.
In any case, we ended up building a tiny 3 metre extension for the same price: good for us, not so good for the stubborn landlord.
You could also apply for permitted development confirmation (I'm sure it's got a more posh name), this will tell you if you need planning permission or not and it's not expensive.

 

[Willl]

Indeed yes - I am hoping I can use the existing plans but will accept if I cant / its not a good idea!

I am confused if I do need planning permission or not.. Here is the guidance:

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/36/loft_conversion

I think we would be within all of those limits / conditions but I am not sure of the first one:

• A volume allowance of 40 cubic metres additional roof space for terraced houses*

We would be 'squaring the roof off' at the back but not touching the front roof. The measurement from the ridge to the back of the new roof would be 4208 and the height at the back 2033.


Do I need to submit the same plans for 'building control' / regs?

Thanks for the help here! Much appreciated all!

Will

 

[Nakajo]

And the width of the house?

 

[DevilDamo]

Whether you can re-use and re-submit the neighbours’ drawings for your proposals would depend how much of a match they are. A part of the Planning process would involve the LPA carrying out a site visit so there shouldn’t be any discrepancies that would delay or prevent them reaching a decision. By using those drawings, your neighbours’ loft works wouldn’t be shown as existing... unless the neighbours’ property isn’t shown on the drawing anyway? Similarly to the Location/Block/Site Plan drawings.

Your LPA’s application validation requirements may have changed since the neighbours’ plans were submitted so check that too.

However and one of the more important things is copyright of which you should seek permission from the originator of the drawings. If there is only a name and number, it may be they were drawn up by a one (wo)man band type person. They may even offer to draw yours up for a small fee so no harm in asking.

 

[johnny2007]

The measurement from the ridge to the back of the new roof would be 4208 and the height at the back 2033.

Width?

 

[tony1851]

@ Nakajo and Johnny; looking at the measurments the OPs given, and allowing 40 m³, I'd guess he could go up to 9m wide, but few terraced houses are that wide, so probably a P.D. job (unless Conservation area/listed etc)?