What if it's a bit bigger?

[fatfred2]

Was looking at building an extension, our extension is visible to noone as it backs onto farm land, albeit a long way from our boundary.
What if we decided to make it a metre deeper say 6x5 instead of 5x5. Which could take our tiny cottage over our permitted development on 2 poxy acres of land!!!?!

A) How would the council ever find out? Or will they guy inspecting the footings also be vigilant they meet the exterior wall size?
B) What if some nosey bellend somehow sees it and dobs us in would the council or those crooked Parish oxygen wasters campaign to have it all taken down?
C) Why are they (planning officers in general) obsessed with stopping me adding a few square metres, but allow 100's of houses on other parts of the green belt to greedy property developers?

 

[John D v2.0]

If you do something without permission and they find out before a few years passes, they'll probably insist you apply for retrospective planning permission.
If it's not granted they will decide if the breach is significant enough to warrant enforcement action.
I'm not sure why you're asking the question in such an aggressive way towards others who have an interest, I take it you disagree with development control as a general principle.

 

[tony1851]

I'm not sure why you're asking the question in such an aggressive way towards others who have an interest, I take it you disagree with development control as a general principle.

Maybe it's because, like some of us, he's had experience of development control over the years?

What he says is right - too many people poking their noses in where they shouldn't.

In one of our LPAs, all applications go to the local parish council for their opinion. Nine times out of ten they recommend refusal.
Why? It's because they're composed of retired busy-bodies who like to feel important but have nothing else to do with their boring, miserable lives.

Similarly for planning committees; I've lost count of the number of times I've seen these retired ladies with handbags staggering off hired minibuses (at the council-tax payers' expense) to gawp at someone's house and discussing it amongst themselves in the street as though they are deciding on HS2 or Hinkley Point.

 

[John D v2.0]

That sounds ridiculous! For ours in London it just went to the planning officer who came out and seemed pretty clued up. I take your point that not everywhere is as sensible!

 

[bernardgreen]

Be disrespectful to the officers and councillors and you will not get them on your side.

Treat them with respect and they can be a source of help and advice as to how to achieve the extension you want even to the point of slightly bending / relaxing the rules in your favour.

 

[Supersax]

Was looking at building an extension, our extension is visible to noone as it backs onto farm land, albeit a long way from our boundary.
What if we decided to make it a metre deeper say 6x5 instead of 5x5. Which could take our tiny cottage over our permitted development on 2 poxy acres of land!!!?!

A) How would the council ever find out? Or will they guy inspecting the footings also be vigilant they meet the exterior wall size?
B) What if some nosey bellend somehow sees it and dobs us in would the council or those crooked Parish oxygen wasters campaign to have it all taken down?
C) Why are they (planning officers in general) obsessed with stopping me adding a few square metres, but allow 100's of houses on other parts of the green belt to greedy property developers?

You have to remember that the planning officers work within the law, as it exists. If the law says that your extension needs permission, then it does. End of story. It's like anything. Comply with the law and you'll be ok. If you flout the law and you get caught, then you have no-one but yourself to blame for the consequences.

 

[fatfred2]

Maybe it's because, like some of us, he's had experience of development control over the years?

What he says is right - too many people poking their noses in where they shouldn't.

In one of our LPAs, all applications go to the local parish council for their opinion. Nine times out of ten they recommend refusal.
Why? It's because they're composed of retired busy-bodies who like to feel important but have nothing else to do with their boring, miserable lives.

Similarly for planning committees; I've lost count of the number of times I've seen these retired ladies with handbags staggering off hired minibuses (at the council-tax payers' expense) to gawp at someone's house and discussing it amongst themselves in the street as though they are deciding on HS2 or Hinkley Point.

Made me chuckle that. Spot on Tony.. this is my experience with many of the Parish council planning committees, unprofessional and clueless, most of the time ive had to correct them on planning matters.

 

[fatfred2]

Be disrespectful to the officers and councillors and you will not get them on your side.

Treat them with respect and they can be a source of help and advice as to how to achieve the extension you want even to the point of slightly bending / relaxing the rules in your favour.

There lies the problem, i had a runin with one of the Parish Council planning member partners (spouse). The next time we had a planning application guess who objected to our application, associates in their club er sorry council followed suit. They fought it to the bitter end and it made a difference. Much to the surprise of many local residents around us who were perplexed and puzzled to why they objected.
The council supported their recommendation.

Problem being the planning framework is a load of *******s, it can be interpreted in any way.
I reported them PC planning amateurs to the council who did jack **** as the condition of predetermination no longer exists in planning, these scumbags were blatantly indicating an objection should be made on my application, BEFORE a vote was cast on the application, chucking in all sorts of comments and insults at me before the decision was made, and believe me i recorded the whole thing. This is an example of parish council conduct and also how the council code of conduct protects them as unless it's clearly stipulated as a conduct rule it doesn't matter, it's out of scope, and cannot be investigated, even if it is they can't actually boot a PC member out, just recommend them training or recommend appropriate action to the PC committee.

Ill give you another example, this time higher level LPA (local planning officer) of a house we were looking at purchasing, planning refused for garage even on a plot of over an acre as they exceeded PD(permitted development). Went to appeal and was overturned and approved, due to Appeals planning officer disregarding the argument of exceeding PD and pointed out the overall percentage of land lost against building footprint was negligible, one had a very narrow short sighted view you could argue was just plain anti development or improvement, or perhaps i just can't see he/she is protecting the environment preventing 'development creep'? The other took a far more pragmatic approach, one could say unbiased. Both were able to quote sections of the planning framework to their justification of their decision... wtf???

I am all for LPA officers and local parish members there to add detail to local requirements to keep character and prevent unwelcome and unsightly development i really am, but give some people, the wrong type of people, some power/control, it normally goes wrong once the realisation sets in...

 

[^woody^]

Try counseling for you councilor issues.