Property Development Project - Day 82

The old house is on a corner between two roads. The minor road is used by mothers and children, both to walk into the town centre and to go between the junior and infants schools at dropping off and picking up times.

The reason for mentioning this is an unexpected problem.

The official public notice that has to remain up for the three-week consultation period is torn down by some passing child and then trampled in the road.

I manage to rescue it but the information is scarcely legible. The last thing I want is for this to provide an excuse to start the consultation period again so I scan into my PC the heading of the notice with the Council’s logo and reconstruct the remainder of it.

I print it off and then go and purchase some green photocopy paper.

I run off a number of copies and seal two of them in plastic wallets.

One I put up on the fence where the last one was and another I put on a tree that is out of reach but still visible from the road.

I take a photo with the time and date just in case anyone seeks to make an issue out of this.

I also phone the Planning Department to let them know what I have done. They are quite used to the situation and indeed seem grateful that I have taken the bother to sort it out.


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Property Development Project - Day 80

By chance I happen to be here when the planning officer comes round to have a look at the site and to put up the official notice of the application to alert passers by.

Of course I try to get some sort of reaction from him but he won’t be drawn into any sort of discussion. This is disappointing and does not create a feeling of confidence that if there are any problems he will look to help solve them.


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Property Development Project - Day 77

Another letter from the Council, this time informing me that the application has been registered. The date for registration was on day 74 of the Property Development Project.

Now I know that I have to wait three weeks for the public consultation period to be concluded before I can get an indication as to how the application will proceed.

However there is one thing I can be doing in the meantime. My neighbours who live in the house that will be affected by the new one I am applying for will be getting a letter from the Council.

I have no doubt they will object to the application but I can at least show some consideration for them by giving them a preview of the plans.

Therefore I go next door and have a slightly awkward chat with both of them. They appreciate why I am doing this even if they would prefer that the development didn’t happen.

In order to be particularly reasonable I agree to make the landing window for the new house obscured glass. The planners won’t make me do this as it is not a window from a habitable room and the only windows in their house that could be affected in any way are already obscured glass for their bathroom.

The fence between our properties (which belongs to them) is somewhat dilapidated and once the plants are removed from my side it will probably fall down. Since I would prefer a smart new fence and it gives me an opportunity to be generous, I offer to replace the fence as part of my development.

This offer is well received and accepted.


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Property Development Project - Day 70

Oh dear, I have made another mistake and this time it is sheer carelessness.

I have received a letter from a lady in Development Control Registration at the Council. It is their job to check all the applications before registering them to make sure all the details are correct.

I have made a mistake on the plans. For the extension to the old house I have shown a window on the NW elevation that is not shown on the floor plan.

Now I thought I had taken care over this by lining up the floor plans and elevations to check sizes and alignments of doors and windows etc. However obviously I was not careful enough since when I check I find she is right and I am wrong.

After a small bit of redrawing and then going round to my helpful print man and getting another 6 copies of the corrected plan I am ready to resubmit the application.


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Property Development Project - Day 68

The main print bureaux want what I regard as a small fortune to print my plans, especially since they include some colour. Now strictly speaking I don’t need any colour on the plans but it does make them look smarter.

However my luck is in and I find a local man who does building design and he is happy to print my plans for a reasonable rate. This is important since I will be needing plenty of prints as this property development project moves forward.

So I take the AutoCAD files around to his house on a USB memory stick and he prints 6 copies each of my two plans.

I write a covering letter to the planners, in part to confirm the conversation regarding the advice that I don’t need to submit a Conservation Area application form.

I put the whole lot in an envelope with a cheque for £220 and take it to the Council offices.

I could have posted it but this way I know they have got everything and there can be no doubt about the date since I get a receipt.


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Property Development Project - Day 67

In order to proceed with the property development project I have downloaded the Planning Application forms from the Council’s website along with the notes on how to fill them in and the fees rates.

The application forms come as .pdf files that I print out and fill in by hand.

While doing so I note that where a building is to be demolished in a Conservation Area this means a separate Conservation Area Application Form. Well I am going to knock down the existing garage so to make sure that I am getting the forms right I ring up the Council to speak to my planning contact.

He isn't there but another planning officer talks to me and I describe the situation. He helpfully looks at the planing records for the site and can find no record of an application being made to build the garage.

Since it was certainly built (circa 1985) after their records began the planner assumes it must have been done under permitted development rights. He also informs me that since they have no record of the garage I do not need to submit the Conservation Area Application form.

I have included copies of the application forms with this post.

The area I calculated via the site plan in AutoCAD. However it does not need to desperately accurate for this application since it is a small site and density calculations are not going to be a factor.

You will be able to note at the bottom of page 3 that 5 copies of the application form need to be submitted along with 5 copies of the plans.

Now, I don’t have a printer that will print A2 size pages so I must find someone who can take AutoCAD files and print them for me.


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Property Development Project - Day 66

Again we are going to skip forward somewhat on this property development project because...

...He is not getting any quicker!

The next reply also starts with another apology, and goes on;

"With regards to the proposed dwelling I believe that the decoration at first floor level should be removed as this does not reflect the whole design of the dwelling and adds no extra merit to the proposal.'"

"There are no issues that I can raise at this time that would lead me to discourage you from submitting a planning application at this time, without prejudice to the outcome of the application"

"In addition, I can see no reason, at this time to discourage you from submitting a planning application for the single storey additions to the old house".

This is where I make my first mistake. The site is in a Conservation Area. For property development applications outside Conservation Areas that don't effect a Listed Building the planning officer allocated to your application deals with all aspects of approving or rejecting the design.

However in a Conservation Area the Council's Conservation Officer is consulted and their opinion is the one that counts.

I made the assumption (incorrectly) that since he is commenting on matters of design in a Conservation Area and it has taken another 4 weeks to reply that he would have shown the plans to the Conservation Officer.

So in happy ignorance of this I now obtain the application forms by downloading them from the Council's website.


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Property Development Project - Day 33

After tweaking the plans already drawn I write another letter to the planner at the Local Authority so that the property development project can move on.

I explain about the turning head and in case there is any problem about the reduced garden length I include details of shorter back gardens that have been approved in the same area within the past few years.

This is just a small indication that research can help you to avoid potential problems before they arise. Of course the planner might not have any difficulty in approving short back gardens but there is no harm in being prepared and indicating this.

The plans are those that show the floor layout and elevations for the new house and the single storey extension to the old one.

I also include a brief statement in support of the design for the new house with regard to the use of rendered walls, style of windows and the incorporation of detailing on the front elevation. (This is not shown on the posted plans as I have deleted these from my computer).

So now we sit back and wait again, after all he has another 10 working days to reply!


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Property Development Project - Day 32

So the proposed idea for the property development can move to the next stage.

After tweaking the plans already drawn I will write another letter to the planner to take the preliminary work to the next level.

The plan shows the revised layout for the new house and the new garage and single storey extension for the old house.

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Property Development Project - Day 31

Leaping forward again because after all there is not much fun in reading posts that just say ‘no reply to that letter yet again’.

So here we are day 31 of my property development project, a full month in and YES a reply and it was posted first class too. 20 working days (4 weeks) and twice as long as it was supposed to take.

However we won’t worry about that. He is good enough to apologise about the delay in responding and the main part of the letter says; ‘From the information contained within your plan, with regards to the siting and proposed plot size, I would not discourage you from submitting a planning application at this time, without prejudice to its outcome’.

‘I have not, at this time consulted the Council’s Highway department with regards to the visibility splays from the site but, I am able to advise you that they will require a turning area in order that any vehicle is able to enter and leave the site in a forward gear’.

So although the first paragraph is hedged with qualifications it is as close as you will get to ‘go ahead and we will grant permission’ at this stage.

The second paragraph is OK as well. I know the requirements for visibility splays and have measured them. This plot comfortably exceeds the requirements. The turning head required a bit of redrawing and moving the new house back slightly. This is a slight concern since I cannot move the house back any more and still provide a sensible back garden, but the turning head although it looks fine on the plan will not be suitable for anything much bigger than an old Mini.

Anyway – good news and it was worth doing the extra work during the delay in waiting for the reply.


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Daily Telegraph - Blueprint For Disaster - the end

And the final element in the scenario for the potential Blueprint for Housing Development Disaster is an assumed ‘widespread non-compliance of environmental building regulations’.

Building Regulations were first brought in to ensure that building work is carried out to a standard that ensures the safety of both users and occupiers. As new construction techniques are adopted they need to be updated and adapted.

However partly to assuage this Government’s desire to regulate everything and also to apply the never-ending flow of regulations from the EU, the BRs are extended and added to every year.

The first part of this charge in the article is that 98% of builders (have they checked all builders? There are a lot out there) are failing to display Energy Performance Certificates on new homes.

Oh dear! This is critical in the safe construction of a new house.

Apparently one development where on paper the new houses met the new regulations for energy efficiency targets by fitting condensing boilers, they failed to do so because old fashioned conventional boilers had been installed.

This regulation only came into force during last year and it is possible that either the development was started before the regulation came into force or the purchasing department made a mistake. Nobody will be hurt and the properties have perfectly good boilers fitted that fully meet the standards in force only months earlier.

Next in a survey of 100 new homes since 2002 apparently nearly half failed Government standards for energy efficiency despite having been signed off by building inspectors.

It’s not a very large survey is it when you think that about 100,000 new homes are built each year? But the Association for the Conservation of Energy thinks it is ‘a huge problem’.

If there is a problem then it should be investigated properly to firstly establish the extent and then where the failings are occurring. If developers are deliberately flouting the regulations to save money then they should be prosecuted if for no other reason than to establish a level playing field of costs for the rest of the entirely law abiding builders.

However a slight pause in ever-tighter regulation might be of help firstly to question the cost benefit both to the economy and the environment.

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Daily Telegraph - Private-sector Inspectors

The next charge – using private-sector inspectors to check new homes.

The article has a quote from a Local Authority employee saying ‘private inspectors used by the main housebuilders are undercutting the costs of local authority ones, leading to the danger of lowering standards’.

Why do builders use private-sector inspectors?

Is it to save money on fees?

If so and the local authority cannot provide a competitive service they should look to their own department’s efficiency rather than complain about the removal of their potential abuse of previous monopoly advantages.

Is it to enable the cutting of corners and failure to meet safe standards?

I doubt that is true although it is the scare tactic being offered by the article. The private-sector inspectors come from NHBC, Zurich Insurance or a similar organisation and they are backing up the quality of the inspections with a financial guarantee.

This is the reason they are used. Buyers look for a 10 year or longer guarantee on a new property and the developers are going to use organisations that will provide this.

There is no lowering of standards. The same building regulations are imposed by both the private and public sectors, although the private sector will be even more cautious when it comes to use of untested materials or new building techniques.

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Daily Telegraph - More on Design

Now for a bit more on design.

The article in the Daily Telegraph quoted from a report by The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment where they indicated that 4 out of five new developments were ‘mediocre or worse’ and only 17% as ‘good or very good’.

On a mathematical note this leaves only 3% that might be described as acceptable. This seems a remarkably small proportion.

CABE is made up of staff and consultants that include architects, engineers, planners, environmental specialists, academics and developers. You can bet that the developers are in a definite minority and don’t include many from the major housebuilders.

This body is not representative of the opinions or desires of the general public. It is bodies like this in the past that thought that tower blocks of flats in the 1960s were good design and would improve people’s lives.

They would also have been delighted with the extensive use of exposed concrete that now blights areas of our cities and is mostly loathed by those that live there.

Developers use architects to design new blocks of flats in central urban locations because they are looking to SELL to those that aspire to living in a modern apartment in a block designed from modern materials.

These designers are not used for the majority on new houses.

Why not?

Because the developers carry out market research into what their target market wants to buy and then they build it. The mistake CABE and other unrepresentative bodies make is thinking that the housebuyer does not know what they want and is incapable of voicing that desire.

Developers are in the business of selling the most expensive purchase in most peoples lives. They also carry huge capital costs if they get it wrong and nobody will buy the houses they have built. Therefore they go to some trouble to build the houses that the buyer wants.

It may not please the Architect, the Engineer or the Academic but the buyer who is paying £250,000 or more is happy to get a house that meets their requirements and looks pleasing to their eye.

Art critics may love the modern artistic ideas that win the Turner Prize but look in peoples homes are you will find very different styles of decoration. The same is true for the houses themselves.

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Property Development Project - Day 21

We will telescope forward a bit and now it is 15 working days since the Planning Officer has received my letter and still no response.

Do I chase him and risk creating a negative relationship from the start or continue to be patient.

On balance I decide on continued patience. There are going to be delays later and building up a bit of goodwill now may pay dividends later.


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Daily Telegraph - Developers Design Briefs

Shock Horror – Developers writing design briefs.

One small piece of information – developers have been doing this for the best part of 20 years.

What is a design brief?

It is a set of principles to be followed for a development to be acceptable.

Basic criteria for all developments are going to be set out in the Local Plan or Local Development Framework as they are called now.

This is also likely to set out very basic principles for individual sites on matters such as:

• Density
• Affordable housing
• Access points
• Open space

Next you come to more detailed matters relating to design such as;

• Road layout
• Height and relationship of buildings
• Mix of house types
• Construction materials
• Parking
• Cycleways
• Public transport
• Play areas
• Landscaping

These are items that can be dealt with in a design brief or via the initial negotiations on a full planning application.

These days even small applications are expected to come with a ‘development statement’ that will need to address as many of the above issues and more that may be considered to be relevant.

Now consider as a taxpayer would you prefer that the developer pays for this work that can then be accepted, rejected or amended by the Planners or would you prefer to foot the bill by employing more staff in your local planning department.

The brief prepared by the developer can and often is subject to amendment, so where is the problem.

As promised last time; in the next post I will consider the next indication of ‘potential catastrophe’ where private-sector Inspectors check new homes.


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Daily Telegraph - More on Planning Bribes

Before moving onto the second point I have just remembered that there is something about the previous subject that I forgot to mention.

There are a number of reasons why large planning applications get delayed:

1. Because it is larger there are bound to be more issues to be considered and thus more time needed to process it.
2. A good application will include additional information relating to subjects that will be of concern to the planners, such as; layout, design, landscaping, environment, roads, drainage, affordable housing, open space, etc.
3. Legal agreements to cover contributions and affordable housing.
4. Objections that need to be considered and included in the final report.

There will be other reasons but this serves to give you a flavour of the issues.

There is however one further reason that is not immediately apparent – Government Policy on Local Government efficiency.

This Government sets targets for everything and gives extra money for those that achieve the targets.

Quite reasonable you might think. However like many of their target initiatives the blunt instrument has effects not considered when it was introduced.

Like the target for your local GP where they need to see you within 48 hours of your ringing to make an appointment. The unforeseen result is that most GPs won’t make appointments for a day and time that is convenient for both of you. Oh no, you have to come in on the next available slot or ring again on the day of your choice and take a chance.

Planning departments have a target to resolve all applications within 8 weeks from them being registered. Given that you have a 3 week consultation period that does not leave long for the planning officer to consider the responses and write a report.

Large applications are almost certain to need to go the Committee for a decision and so you have to consider the Committee cycle and the need to have a report ready 1 week before the meeting date.

However it is easy to resolve all the small applications for extensions, alterations, tree work and minor changes of use. So since you get a large (we are talking several £100,000s) additional grant for dealing with over 90 – 95% of applications in the 8 weeks you are going to push large or complicated applications to the bottom of the pile.

Developers know and understand this so when the Local Authority comes along to offer to deal with the application quickly for £20,000 they are likely to be receptive to the idea.

As promised last time; in the next post I will consider the next indication of ‘potential catastrophe’ where developers write design briefs for new estates.


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Daily Telegraph - Blueprint For Disaster

As a break from the House Development Project while we wait for the Planning Officer to fulfil his undertaking to reply to my letter I want to comment on an article that has appeared as the lead for the Property Section of the Daily Telegraph for Saturday 11th February.

The Headline for this article, which takes up a full third of the front page is ‘BLUEPRINT FOR DISASTER’ and then the subheading ‘IN THE DRIVE TO PROVIDE THOUSANDS OF NEW HOMES, THE BUILDING GIANTS HAVE BEEN HANDED UPRECIDENTED POWER AND INFLUENCE. HOW WISE IS THAT?’

It goes on to indicate that the paper has learned of cases of:

 Developers paying local authorities to hire planing consultants to speed up their application
 Developers writing their own design briefs for estates
 Developers choosing their own private-sector inspectors to check new homes
 Widespread non-compliance of environmental building regulations

This then has the label of a ‘POTENTIAL DISASTER’.

The whole article is worthy of the typical scare tactics of a down market tabloid newspaper rather than the type of reasoned, balanced reporting that is supposed to be a feature of a broadsheet paper such as the Daily Telegraph.

Anyway I would like to take the time to give some balance to the hysterical report.

Firstly the report targets the Government for forcing Local Authorities (particularly in the South) to allow the building of thousands of new homes, without the necessary planning and inspection staff to handle the growth.

The first matter to consider is that the rate of new housebuilding has been at record lows for some years due to Government policy and ever growing delays in the planning system.

This has resulted in increasing demand since supply has been restricted and this has led to house prices rising faster than most other asset groups.

The Government has at last woken up to the fact that their policies have created a housing crisis where increasingly first time buyers are having to wait until they are in their 30s before they can afford to purchase.

The restrictions on building have also led to nowhere near enough new ‘affordable homes’ being built to meet need.

It is however perfectly true that although you have to pay when submitting an application and Government is providing extra grant money to efficient planning departments there is a shortage of staff; particularly good staff. In many cases good planning officers are tempted away (via better salaries) to the private sector.

The fact that some Local Authorities are now effectively blackmailing developers by demanding extra money to process large applications. A figure of £20,000 is mentioned for one development in Kent. The implication of the article is that the application might have been refused if the Local Authority had not received the money from the Developer.

Another way to report this would be to inform readers that the site was allocated for development and therefore there was no prospect of it being refused all that was needed was for the details to be agreed. Rather than funding this work (as they should have) the Planning Department quietly indicates that a payment of £20k will enable them to clear the logjam of other applications and then deal with this big one. I.e. – pay up or face lengthy delays.

In the next post I will consider the next indication of ‘potential catastrophe’ where developers write design briefs for new estates.


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Property Development Project - Day 16

Those of you who remember Day 3 will recall that I wrote a letter then to the Planning Officer enclosing a layout plan for the plot.

It was sent first class so he would have got it on day 4. He was supposed to respond within 10 working days. That means the final day for him to write a letter would have been day 14 with me waiting in eager anticipation for the post on day 15.

Guess what – no letter and again no letter on day 16, well perhaps they are looking to save postage costs and all letters go out second class.


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Property Development Project - Day 14

OK, here are the elevation plans for the single storey extension proposal.


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Property Development Project - Day 12

Next we come to elevation plans.

You don’t need these to make up your mind regarding the layout but once the idea seems worth pursuing then you need them to establish if your vision works aesthetically.

You will also need them when you submit a planning application.

This is where a comparative novice to drawing in AutoCAD starts to tear their hair out. Just look at the roof profile – Fine it looks great built but to draw it and get everything to fit together as it does in the real world means accurate measurements not only of the dimensions of the building but also the various roof pitches involved.

No, they are not all the same! Just try hanging out of windows with a carpenter’s measure and a protractor.

Then you have to input the various angles in when you are drawing and heave a huge sigh of relief when it all comes together.

Those shown in this post are for the two storey extension. Next time you can have the differences for a single storey extension.


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Property Development Project - Day 8

The old house presents more by way of problems and challenges than the new one. Firstly what are the objectives?

Well I have to come up with a replacement garage since the old one will be knocked down to form the back garden to the new house.

If I am building a garage attached to the house it will be a pity not to make some other improvements at the same time.

The kitchen is really too small for a house of this size and the modern desire is for a room where you can cook, eat and entertain.

This can be achieved by incorporating the old Utility Room and Cloakroom into the kitchen and building a further extension to house these necessities.

Since we are building a new attached garage is it worth while building over this and adding a further bedroom and en-suite to the main bedroom? Well it is certainly worth drawing it up and having a look.

Therefore here you will find the floor plans for ground and first floor alterations.


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