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  • HPH330 : What is a planning consultant? – with Andy Moger

    HPH330 : What is a planning consultant? – with Andy Moger

    Andy Moger, from Tetlow King Planning, explains the role of a planning consultant and the benefits they can bring to a project.

    Interview with Andy Moger

    Andy is a planning consultant for Tetlow King Planning: a planning and development company based in Bristol that operates nationwide.

    A number of years ago he worked on the government’s first pilot scheme for self and custom build – the Heartlands project in Cornwall. Following that, he became more involved in the self and custom build sector, primarily doing work for the Right to Build taskforce. Nowadays, this sector is all he works on, dealing with applications, appeals and site promotions, ranging from single dwellings to larger developments and appeal work for some of the big house builders and strategic land promoters.

    Not all building projects will require planning approval

    It is possible to use ‘permitted development’ rights for work like small extensions and loft conversions, depending on the extent of the area you’re adding to your property.

    The ‘prior approval’ process typically applies to larger extensions. You inform the council who will notify your neighbours. If there haven’t been any objections after a period of time then you’re deemed to have consent.

    Local plans control development in each area

    Each council has to have a local plan; sometimes called a district plan or core strategy. These set out a strategic approach for that area for the next 15-20 years, and contain the policies that control development. If you’re looking to get planning permission on a particular piece of land you will need to check your local plan to see how you fit with those policies, or how you might overcome any potential issues.

    All of these plans will work on the basis of concentrating the development in the most sustainable locations, which will tend to be the largest settlements within an authority area. The settlement hierarchy is:

    • Towns and cities
    • Larger villages with a broad range of services
    • Smaller villages that have some facilities but still place a degree of reliance on higher-order settlements
    • Hamlets and open countryside where the presumption generally is against development happening unless there are specific circumstances, such as for essential agriculture

    Start with a site appraisal

    A planning consultant can carry out a site appraisal before you get to the application submission stage. This looks at a number of areas that might be a barrier to getting planning approval:

    • What the local policy position is
    • What the chances of adhering to those policies is
    • Site constraints, such as flood zones, ecological designations, conservation areas, nearby heritage assets, etc

    This would be followed by a number of surveys and reports

    Providing that the planning consultant thinks they can demonstrate that the project complies with the local plan, a number of surveys need to be carried out to support the planning application. These will depend on the scale of the development but it is likely that some will be requested.

    An ecological report will typically be required to identify whether there are any protected species on the site and sometimes these can only be carried out at a specific time of year. If you miss a survey calendar window, you may need to wait until the following year before trying again.

    Additionally, a transport statement will look at visibility splays and traffic generation from your scheme. Depending on where your site is, there could also be heritage reports, ground contamination reports and archaeological investigations.

    Local validation requirements will tell you what you need to submit

    Local validation requirements supplement the national validation list, with what the local authority considers as appropriate for their area. It tells you what information you need to provide with your application when you submit it. Once you have submitted all the required information on the Planning Portal, and paid your fee, you wait for the council to validate it.

    There are two routes to a planning decision

    If there haven’t been objections to the scheme, or if they’ve been addressed and the case officer is satisfied, then there are two routes to planning approval that might be taken. The first is their delegated decision, which tends to be on smaller, non-contentious schemes. This is where the officer has been given the power to grant or refuse planning consent.

    The other route is where it is put forward to a committee. This might be because it has been called in by a local councillor, or because it is more contentious with a number of objections.

    You have six months to appeal a decision

    If the case officer or committee refuse the application, you have six months in which to appeal. There are three routes for this.

    The first is called written representations, which is the easiest and cheapest. In your statement you would set out your case and submit it to the planning inspectorate. The council does the same. The planning inspectorate reviews both statements and makes a decision as to whether the appeal should be allowed or dismissed.

    The second route is a hearing. Both sides set out their case as above, but then attend a hearing together in person. The planning inspectorate will listen to both parties before making their decision.

    And thirdly, it can go to a public inquiry. This is the most expensive and time-consuming and is run very much like a trial. There are barristers and witnesses, and the inspector will sit as judge. They make their decision based on the written evidence and what they’ve heard in the cross-examinations.

    Choose a planning consultant based on their relevant experience

    If you’re looking for a planning consultant to work on your case with you, it is sensible to choose one with relevant experience of the appeals process that you are using. They should be a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) and have a good track record locally. Don’t be afraid to ask for examples of cases they’ve won, so that you know you’re going with someone who is familiar with local policy and has relationships with councillors and officers in the area.

    Councils have a statutory duty to make self build land available

    Putting your name on the Right to Build register means that the council has a legal duty under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act to issue the same number of permissions as there are names on the register.

    Andy has been involved in appeals where they have been able to argue that because the council have failed in their legal duty to issue enough consents for self and custom building, then land which might be outside of settlement limits should be permitted for development.

    Andy has also found that although some councils claim to have met their obligations by granting the same number of single dwelling permissions as there are people on their register looking for a plot, further investigation shows that actually, the majority of them aren’t for self or custom build at all. Some of these can be planning permissions for up to 9 dwellings, where they’re clearly developer-led models with no ability for customisation.

    Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Supply in Braintree

    8 out of 10 people aren’t aware of the Right to Build Register

    In one appeal that Andy worked on, although the council had met its obligations, they were able to argue that secondary data sources showed the register was actually a massive underestimation of the numbers of people in the area that wanted to self-build. Many of these were people that weren’t even aware of the self-build register. The inspector in that case allowed the appeal, even though the council had met its statutory duty.

    Andy would encourage anyone to add their details to this register though, as this will increase the number of self build plots the council legally has to make available.

    Outline planning permission is less risky

    A full planning permission provides all the details about your scheme, including layouts, landscaping, scale and massing. If you were to then get planning consent, all you would have to do is discharge the conditions against it, such as material samples, working hours on site etc.

    What a lot of people do is seek an outline consent with access only. This is an illustrative plan showing what you intend to put on the site. With outline approval you have to get subsequent reserved matters approvals for all the elements that you haven’t included at that stage. Outline permission is cheaper, so is therefore considered less of a risk.

    Andy stresses the importance of discharging any pre-commencement conditions, prior to starting work on site.

    Self builders can apply for CIL exemption

    CIL is the Community Infrastructure Levy that some councils have implemented. It is a per square metre charge on development and is intended to pay for strategic infrastructure. Self builders can apply for an exemption, but it is incredibly important to follow the process correctly, and within the timeframes, as failure to do so could lead to a bill running into thousands of pounds.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Tetlow King Planning

    Follow Tetlow King Planning on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Andy Moger
  • HPH224 : What due diligence should you carry out before buying land? – with Rob Wiggans

    HPH224 : What due diligence should you carry out before buying land? – with Rob Wiggans

    Rob Wiggans from RMP Property explains how you can minimise risks when buying land for development.

     

    Interview with Rob Wiggans

    Previously we spoke with Rob about what self-builders can learn from commercial land-buyers when looking for a plot of land. Rob used to work in the land buying department of Taylor Wimpey, and now works in property investment for RMP Property (now the Property Hub), so he knows a thing or two about what checks to carry out before buying a building plot.

     

    More due diligence means there’s less risk

    “Due diligence is the vital, critical research that any person buying land has to conduct in order to provide security to their purchase and ensure that whatever they’re buying is right for their objective for that particular site.”

    Even with due diligence carried out, things still can go wrong. But the more you do, the less risk there is likely to be.

     

    Create your network first

    Establish your team of key people before you get started. By first making contact with a recommended architect, they will be able to provide access to the relevant consultants to conduct your due diligence.

     

    Carry out initial brief checks

    On finding a piece of land, the key people Rob would first contact would be:

    • Solicitor – to provide a quick red flag check on whether anything may crop up from a legal perspective;
    • Ground consultant – they would do a quick check of local maps in the area;
    • Architect – usually the sites Rob would be interested in have planning permission, so the architect would assess the quality of the planning permission and any conditions that are attached to it.

    If further information was needed following that, options might be to go to an ecologist, services consultant or traffic consultant.

     

    Understand the ground conditions

    In terms of the site, the key piece of due diligence to explore is understanding the ground below the site to determine what foundations and ground works will be required. While virtually all pieces of land can be built on, the costs could be high if the ground conditions aren’t favourable.

    A ground investigation should comprise a phase one and a phase two. Phase one would be engaging a ground consultant to carry out a desktop study, using historical mapping and records to show how the land has been used in the past. This would cost in the region of £500-£1,000.

    The ground consultant would then be able to advise to what extent you need to do a phase two, ie a physical investigation of the site where boreholes and trenches would be dug. If phase one has revealed any doubt that there could have been mining or contamination on the site previously, then there would need to be a more rigorous phase two investigation. This could be around £5,000-£10,000 for a small site.

    A ground investigation can also provide some information on how good the drainage would be, but there is the option to carry out further drainage and flood surveys. Drainage design for foul and surface water will need to be submitted as part of the planning application or as a condition of the planning approval before works commence.

    The extent to which archaeology and ecology surveys are needed would be dictated by the local authority.

     

    Check how you can connect utilities

    One option is to employ a services consultant to look at and assess what services are in the immediate locality. Alternatively you can go through the local authority and contact local service providers who can give you this information and advise how much it is likely to cost to connect to your house.

     

    Ensure there is adequate site access

    Access fundamentally covers whether you can get emergency services, waste trucks and other vehicles in and out of the site.

    The first thing to bear in mind, is ‘visibility splay’: whether you can reverse out of your drive and adequately see traffic, and whether you can be seen by that traffic. Planning applications will need provision for adequate access, and a traffic consultant would be able to provide that information.

     

    Explore legal considerations

    Ensuring you have a legal right of way onto your land is crucial. A solicitor would check if you are legally able to access the land from a title perspective and covenant perspective, whether there are ransom strips, and if you’re crossing unregistered land to get to the site. Taking out an insurance policy of generally a few hundred pounds would cover costs if an applicable unregistered piece of land was later claimed for example.

     

    Go with your gut instinct

    “If you’ve always had an element of doubt about a particular site or ‘there’s something not right here,’ there probably is.”

    Rob advises that if you don’t have confidence in the site, then don’t go ahead with it.

    “Don’t develop a bias in terms of eagerness to pursue a site, just because you want to or you’re desperate to get on to a self-build project. Take your time.”

     

    Do a trial run

    If you find a piece of land that is out of your price range, or not in the area that you want, Rob suggests doing a dry run and practice the due diligence process. Consider it from access and legal perspectives, chat to a local architect about it and try and find out why it hasn’t sold or what the positives and negatives of the site are.

    By doing this practice, when you do find the site you want you’ll have that experience and a sharper eye to know what to be looking out for.

     

    Find out more

    Visit the website of the Property Hub

    Follow The Property Hub on Twitter

    Listen to our previous podcast with Rob about what self-builders can learn from commercial land buyers.

     

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Rob Wiggans.

     

    Please connect with me

  • HPH214 : What self-builders can learn from commercial land buyers – with Rob Wiggans from RMP Property

    HPH214 : What self-builders can learn from commercial land buyers – with Rob Wiggans from RMP Property

    Rob Wiggans shares his expert tips on how to find a plot of land for a self build project.

    Interview with Rob Wiggans

    Rob Wiggans studied for a law degree before entering into a graduate apprenticeship with Taylor Wimpey. It was a two-year scheme where he shadowed people in each department, including production, sales, finance and technical. He chose to move into strategic land, starting off in a commercial role before moving to where he was physically going out and finding land. He now works in property investment with RMP Property (now the Property Hub).

     

    Portfolios had a fairly even split between land for immediate development, and long-term future projects

    Land Teams in each region would consist of no more than 10 people, and would include the Land Director, Land Managers who form the relationships with the agents and negotiate the deals, and an Estimator who crunches the numbers to check whether there will be enough profit to make the project viable.

    Rob explains that in his experience of national house-builders, each region would have between 12 and 18 live sites at any one time. The staff would either work in the Strategic or Immediate Land team.

    Strategic Land – In most of the strategic land cases the house builder doesn’t yet own the land. It has no planning permission but they are progressing it through the planning system and promoting it for development. They are able to progress it by having a long term ‘option agreement’ with the landowner whereby they give an initial payment of, say, £10,000 to promote it through the planning system for 10 years. If it still hasn’t progressed at that time they might offer another £10,000 for a further 10 years, and so on. If they successfully take it through planning and purchase the land they will take a 20% discount, because of the significant costs involved with promoting it through the planning system. It benefits the developer because although they are taking the risk, they save a significant amount of money on the purchase price, and also benefits the landowner who receives a good price for not having to take any risk or have any financial outlay.

    The developers will look for when there might be a new local plan being published and use that window as an opportunity to bring it forward for development. Usually they will look for land on the edge of existing settlements, or follow where the growth is going in terms of new infrastructure, such as link roads or stations being built.

    Immediate Land – This is land that the house builder owns, has planning and is ready to be built on. This often comes their way from agents who approach the national house builders. According to Rob, the network of land and planning professionals in any given area is very small, so when a good land opportunity arises it is known very quickly to them all.

     

    It’s about looking where other people might not be looking

    One tactic Rob uses is to monitor planning applications, and will approach a landowner as soon as a planning decision has been granted. A landowner being approached directly might be keen to proceed if you’re able to demonstrate that you can do a quick transaction and are offering a good land value, instead of putting it on the open market and paying agent fees (typically of 1-3%).  Rob suggests being persistent, not giving up and having the right positive mindset.

    Planning applications vary in quality dramatically so care needs to be taken with the due diligence. Things to look out for are access, ground conditions, ecology, drainage and service connections.

    “It’s a nice, idyllic flat piece of land, but people always say, ‘All the issues are below the ground, not above it,’ and when it comes to land, it’s very true.  It’s about trying to uncover the unknowns.”

     

    Establish a relationship with land agents

    Because the networks tend to be quite small, it is advisable to contact your local agents, who will be part of the network, and build a relationship with them. Rather than High Street estate agents, these might be local land agents or surveyors specialising in land.

     

    Don’t be put off by auctions

    The fear of buying at auction is always that there must be something wrong with the land. While this might sometimes be true it doesn’t automatically mean that it’s not an opportunity to be pursued. It might be at auction because the landowner’s circumstances just require a quick sale, or if there is something wrong with the land, can it be solved and can you get value?

    If you’re interested in something that has a few unknowns and you don’t have the time to do due diligence, if it fails to sell at auction you can approach the owner afterwards, say you’re interested and buy yourself some time to carry out the checks.

     

    Find out who owns the land

    By setting up an account with Land Registry, you are able to find out the owner of any piece of land for as little as £3. So if you’ve seen something you think would make a suitable plot you can approach the owner directly to see if they might be interested in selling.

     

    Trust your instincts

    “I’ve found that when you think to yourself, ‘There’s something not right here,’ and you don’t know what it is, if you don’t know and you still have that feeling, don’t do it.  Trust your gut is probably one of the biggest pieces of advice I could recommend.”

     

    Assemble your team

    Rob advises growing your team from the outset. Even for a single self-build plot he suggests employing a highly regarded and recommended conveyancing law expert, an architect, a planning consultant and a land agent. Even though you will need to pay them all a fee, you might be saving yourself significant problems in the future.

     

    Have an exit plan

    Ensure you have a clear idea of what’s going to happen once you get planning and prepare for how you’re going to build it. Engage with reviewing build costs straight away and understand those costs before you end up spending too much money.

     

    Know when to walk away

    Even if there is an opportunity that you’re really keen on, but something’s not quite working, instead of investing many months of effort then know when is the right time to say enough is enough, and move on. Rob stresses that there are always plenty of other opportunities available if you know where to look.

     

    “In simple terms, don’t see any barriers. Try and think outside the box. How can you get in contact with people for the land that you want?”

     

    Find out more

    Visit the website of the Property Hub

    Follow the Property Hub on Twitter

     

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Rob Wiggans.

     

    Please connect with me

  • HPH209 : Why consideration for others matters when designing a new home – with Marlen and Tony Godwin

    HPH209 : Why consideration for others matters when designing a new home – with Marlen and Tony Godwin

    Marlen and Tony Godwin explain why it was important for their modern, minimalist Passivhaus home and office designs to be sympathetic to the neighbourhood.

    Architect, Tony Godwin and his family in their newly built Passivhaus in Whitwell, Rutland
    Photographed for Stamford Living Magazine

    Interview with Marlen and Tony Godwin

    Searching for a school for their son was the motivation for Marlen and Tony Godwin to move out of their London terraced home and build their own Passivhaus near Rutland Water. Tony is an architect and had been keen to create something sustainable that incorporated office space, without having too simplistic a form.

     

    Site constraints informed the design

    Despite Tony’s doubt that they would be able to find a plot of land easily Marlen spent a few minutes on the internet and found six possible sites within 4 miles of their chosen area! Instead of purchasing one of the level plots available, they gave themselves added challenges by buying one set slightly into a hill. Although this, and the hard stone in the area, would add extra costs, it did mean that designing the building came quite naturally. The main elevation faces south for the solar gains, and the bedrooms were put at the back to be further from the noise of the busy road nearby.

    The upside down layout was chosen so they could benefit from views out to the lake from the living area.

    Having researched other buildings in the area which were typically old stone barns with additions tacked on in later years, they followed the idea through with a mainly stone exterior but with the bedroom wing having a standing seam roof and different boarded finish, as if it had been added on later.

     

    The design was partly developed in collaboration with the parish clerk

    The route through planning was aided by them wanting to fit in with the village. Being in a conservation area of only around 50 residents they designed the house to be of similar width and roof pitch to the other barns.  Their planning officer suggested they meet with the parish clerk, who had always been very assiduous in planning matters in the village, and who took the plans round to explain to the villagers while retaining impartiality. Tony worked through the design with him, and where they disagreed on the junction between the garage and the main building, which Tony said would compromise the design and eliminate their view of Rutland Water, they agreed to let the planning system arbitrate between them.

     

    A planning re-submission for design changes to achieve the Passivhaus standard brought the project within budget

    After their original plans came in £300,000 over budget, and not being able to meet the Passivhaus standard, they went back to planning with a redesign. They reduced the overall square footage by incorporating the work studio into the house and leaving out the garage. They were careful to consider resale value and make sure they would be able to sell the house for more than they had invested in it, by taking their plans to local estate agents for feedback.

    But Tony also believes:

    “Okay, you’re going a little bit over what you can sell it for today, but actually, you’ve got to pay something to live in a beautiful home that you’ve created for yourself. That has some value.”

     

    Some challenges were only overcome at the last minute

    Waterproofing was a particular instance, where they had a retaining wall into the hillside with a timber frame in between. The moisture barrier came down the outside of the timber frame and the tanking membrane came up the retaining wall. They needed to come up with a solution for how to join the two, considering the differential settlement between the elements over time. Even finding an adhesive that would stick to the concrete without melting the polystyrene was a challenge.

    Tony and Marlen are thankful that they had a site agent who took a keen interest in the detail required to achieve the Passivhaus standard. It was particularly important when educating the traditional contractor and sub-contractors who had always built a certain way before.

     

    VAT doesn’t have to be claimed back immediately

    Working with a main contractor who was invoicing with zero-rated VAT means that they will only be able to claim the VAT back on things they have purchased themselves. They have left their claim open for the time being as they still plan to build the garage when funds allow.

     

    Tony shares some interesting disadvantages to building to the Passivhaus standard!

    • Increasing the aging and general population because it is so healthy to live in
    • Less tolerance of other people’s drafty old houses
    • When you’re used to living in a temperate 21 degrees you get caught out when you go outside as you didn’t realise how cold it was.

    And what does Marlen think to living and working in her Passivhaus home?

    “Love it, love it, love it, love it!”

     

    Find out more

    Visit the website of FCD Architecture

    Follow FCD Architecture on Twitter

     

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Marlen and Tony Godwin

     

    Please connect with me

  • HPH199 : The challenges of building close to your boundaries – with Oliver Smallman

    HPH199 : The challenges of building close to your boundaries – with Oliver Smallman

    Self-builder Oliver Smallman tells us about planning, building and living in his London Passivhaus.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Interview with Oliver Smallman

    Oliver and his wife are not absolute beginners at self-building. They co-designed a house in Corfu where they have lived on and off for 27 years. As Oliver sums it up, “Probably not the best design I’ve ever seen in the world, but with the most remarkable view.”

    Photo courtesy of RDA (http://www.rdauk.com/)

    A rare chance to build green in London

    While the Corfu project was a tremendous experience, Oliver had no intention of self-building again. However, when he had an opportunity to buy a house in Chiswick, with an unusually large garden, he saw the chance to use new, ecological building methods to build a Passivhaus.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    The sunken design meant opting for concrete

    Oliver designed his Passivhaus with Richard Dudzicki, of RDA Architects. They originally planned to use Structural Insulated Panels but the site was very constrained and Richard saw the potential for sinking the house below ground. Thus they chose a piled site and a concrete build.

    Oliver had already fallen in love with the use of boarded concrete and explains, “The concrete walls on the interior, boarded and plain and smooth, were always in the plan.” The mixture of textures is part of what Oliver calls, “concrete as a look”; they even allowed the errors of the pouring to remain.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    The brief called for concrete, convenience and light

    As well as using concrete, Oliver wanted to avoid the house being dark. He says lots of glazing along the south of the house works well for a Passivhaus.

    In terms of style, he had grown used to travelling in his work life and Oliver appreciates functional touches like having the lights over your bed and the switch at hand. “It’s a little bit “hotel-y” but it really suits me,” he says.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Neighbours objected to the modern design

    Although the planning application was recommended for approval, about 40 local residents came to the planning meeting with extremely negative reactions and three councillors stopped the application.

    One reason given was excessive size, despite the majority of the house being underground. They also argued the house was not “in keeping with the area” but Oliver has a different perspective, asking, “Why would you build a replica of a house that was built in 1949 or 1950? You’d be mad!”

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Repeated planning applications didn’t just pay lip service

    Rather than sacrifice his contemporary design, Oliver tried to absorb feedback to gain his neighbours’ support. This meant some meaningful compromises where the design was blended in. For example, Oliver chose to match the white exterior walls and bricks of the other houses in the road.

    A smaller second design allowed more green space, but the application was rejected again. Oliver then lost his appeal on the grounds that he wasn’t providing parking. Further reducing the top floor enabled off-street parking to be included in the next application.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Getting planning consent took four applications

    Having seen the application a number of times, twelve Council members gave up their Saturday morning to come and look at the site. The opposition party made representations but Oliver says they made the mistake of behaving rudely. As he explains, “I think the Council officers probably thought, ‘You lot are nuts and this guy’s doing something perfectly reasonable.’”

    At the next vote, the same three councillors objected, but the others disagreed, so planning permission was finally granted four years into the process. Oliver notes that the final design fits the street and has become accepted. The modern house is softened by use of greenery and locally appropriate materials.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Research led to the right concrete and windows

    Although Oliver was inspired by the use of concrete in stations like Westminster, his design contrasts it with wooden floors. In addition, he used Portland Whitener to lighten the colour. Oliver went to the Concrete Centre and signed up for the course in concrete pouring. “You can’t just phone up a concrete company and they bring you concrete and pour it and then it looks like this,” he says.

    Oliver also did a lot of research to find the right triple-glazed windows. He has been happy with the certified Passivhaus windows and service provided by Internorm.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    A tight urban site presented challenges

    The eight by eighteen metre site meant building close to boundary walls. The existing house had to be underpinned and Oliver needed to protect his neighbour’s house and cherry tree while digging a four-metre hole within three metres of them. To give Oliver the security to start digging out, a specialist company was used to sink the concrete piles.

    Digging a large hole on such a tight site meant that space for storage and machinery was permanently on the move. As Oliver says, “It’s like a dance. When we were piling it, the piler would be in one corner, the concrete machine would have to be in another one.” They even built a platform to put the digger on to remove the last piece of soil.

     

    © Tim Wilcockson

    The Passivhaus offers comfortable, healthy living

    When the house was complete, Oliver actually rented it out for a while. Staying in his existing draughty house meant he appreciated the difference even more when he moved in. Three things surprised him. Firstly, how quiet the concrete-built, triple-glazed house is. Secondly, the fantastic air quality and thirdly, living draught free, with the same temperature everywhere.

    Oliver isn’t dogmatic about the Passivhaus method but is extremely satisfied. “There may well be better solutions in the future, but I’ve now had the opportunity to live in this house for nearly a year and I absolutely love it,” he says.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Leaving a legacy costs more

    Oliver’s house is designed to last and be efficient. As he explains, “I’m trying to build something that uses very little power and little energy, and I’ll be long gone but it’ll be a very valuable asset either for my own children or for somebody else.” In fact, he says his energy costs are easily under £500 a year.

    However, Oliver admits the build cost more than he’d intended, saying, “I thought I could do it for £400,000 and I built it for £600,000 finished.” Digging out the soil had been much more expensive due to bad weather. Moreover, he could have saved on some specifications but paid more for feel and durability. For example, he fell in love with the floor in the Saatchi Gallery. He reveals it cost “a crazy amount of money” but the untreated Douglas Fir will last hundreds of years and could be sanded a thousand times.

    © Tim Wilcockson

    Oliver’s tips for self-builders

    Commercial builders tend to avoid low energy builds as they are less profitable, but Oliver remarks that the more people who put up good buildings, the more the country as a whole will benefit.

    His key advice is to persevere. As well as using Google for research, he has two other top tips for green builders:

    Find out more

    UK Passivhaus Awards 2016

    RDA Architects

     

    Watch a video on Chiswick Eco Lodge

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Oliver Smallman

    Please connect with me

  • HPH188 : What are Paragraph 80 builds and how do they work? – with Richard Hawkes from Hawkes Architecture

    HPH188 : What are Paragraph 80 builds and how do they work? – with Richard Hawkes from Hawkes Architecture

    Richard Hawkes from Hawkes Architecture tells us about the exceptional circumstances in which planning for rural new builds may be granted.

    *Since recording this podcast, the government has updated the National Planning Policy Framework. ‘Paragraph 55’ (or ‘Para 55’) policy changed in name to ‘Paragraph 79’ and then ‘Paragraph 80′, although the content remains largely unchanged. * 

    We have amended the show notes but the interview will still talk about Paragraph 55.

    Interview with Richard Hawkes

    Richard Hawkes’ self-build, Crossway, helped launch his own practice Hawkes Architecture nine years ago. Before that he worked at a large commercial practice in London.

    As planning is rarely granted for new rural homes, Richard had to learn what circumstances were considered exceptions. His expertise then led to work gaining planning consent for others in similar circumstances. Nowadays Richard even sits on a Design Review Panel, made up of professionals including landscape architects and engineers, that advises planners whether or not a proposal is meeting policy.

    Crossway

    Planning policy allows rural development in exceptional circumstances

    Paragraph 79 has four special circumstances that can permit a new dwelling in the countryside:

    1. An agricultural worker’s dwelling. It’s quite difficult to create a business case for these so they don’t happen very often.
    2. Re-use of a heritage asset, e.g. saving a listed building.
    3. Re-use of redundant farm buildings. Relaxation of permitted development legislation has made this moot for now.
    4. If the dwelling is of exceptional quality or innovative in its nature of design. All of Richard’s Paragraph 79 projects fall into this last category.

    Four tests determine if a design is sufficiently exceptional

    For a dwelling to be of exceptional quality or innovative in its nature of design, it has to pass all of these tests:

    • Help to raise the standards of design more generally in rural areas
    • Be of the highest standards in architecture
    • Significantly enhance the immediate setting
    • Be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area

    Hawkhurst

    Paragraph 79 is an important design-led policy

    Since Planning’s introduction in 1946, there has been a reluctance to approve new homes in the countryside. Green Belt, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Heritage Coast and other designations evidence this. Even Paragraph 79, which Richard describes as a piece of national policy originally introduced in 1997 to enable landowners to get permission for their “English country house”, states that planning authorities should generally seek to resist new dwellings.

    In 2003 the Labour government sought to get rid of (then) Paragraph 55 which they felt was an elitist policy, but were lobbied by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) who argued the policy would move forward dwelling design. As a result, the policy evolved into PPS 7, Paragraph 11 and actually used the term ‘contemporary architecture’.

    The policy recognises the mediocrity of typical dwelling design, and has a practical significance in terms of architects’ professional development. It encourages them to learn how to respond to a setting and produce amazing buildings. Richard explains that the principles of good design can be looked at entirely objectively, even if people’s responses to design are inherently subjective.

    Sustainability must be factored into the design

    A beautiful house isn’t enough. A house of the highest standards in architecture will incorporate lots of insulation, heat recovery ventilation, triple-glazing, and passive solar gain. Richard describes these Passivhaus principles as just sensible design and something planners would expect to see in a Paragraph 79 scheme, not reasons why they would grant consent.

    The nature of the site and its management will often tie in to the energy strategy they develop for each individual building.

    West Pearroc

    There are different types of Paragraph 79 house

    Some locations suit a contrasting building, like an English country house. Richard describes this as unapologetically “dominating its landscape. Enhancing it but very much in contrast to it.”

    Conversely, one of his own Paragraph 79 houses on a Green Belt / AONB site needed to show sensitivity to the defining characteristics of the local area and significantly enhance the immediate setting. His architecture enhanced the farmstead by reinforcing the positive qualities of stable buildings on the site while removing other buildings that were “detractors”.

    Likelihood of planning consent must first be weighed up

    Richard’s team must first establish whether the site has the right ingredients to get a planning consent. He uses the analogy of a set of weighing scales, and there are several factors weighing down the ‘wrong side’:

    • You’re not allowed to build a house in the open countryside.
    • In Green Belt, there is the principle of openness. If the site has other buildings on it, you can potentially look at “consolidating building form” as a strategy. If there are no buildings there at all, it becomes very difficult.
    • AONB are protected by National Policy. It is possible, but more complex as these are highly protected pieces of land.
    • If it’s a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or on top of a hill, any development is likely to have a big visual impact.

    No one can guarantee planning consent, so Richard tries to manage that risk. To “balance the scales” he carries out a rigorous analysis of local and national policy to find benefits that could come with a scheme.

    The landscape and architecture have to work together

    Assuming there’s a robust enough case to proceed, Paragraph 79 applications are not for the faint-hearted; they represent a big investment on the client’s part and are about the land as much as the house. It takes months before Richard will even know what they’re designing.

    Time is spent with landscape architects and commissioning reports and surveys to adequately understand the ecology, biodiversity and resources of the site. This long process uncovers minute details about animals, sun, prevailing wind direction, climate and geology.

    Richard explains that involving a landscape architect right at the start helps them to lay down some rules about the site: sensitivities to avoid and opportunities to embrace. The ‘master plan’ is holistic and everything included in the plan can be justified.

    Examples of ways to enhance the landscape might include:

    • Binding the site together with areas of woodland
    • Linking habitats
    • Bolstering woodland edge
    • Introducing wildflower areas and a proper mowing regime to increase biodiversity
    • Putting management plans in place

    Flight Farm

    Designs reflect a rigorous understanding of the site and client

    The practice’s design framework originates from Richard’s self-build experience. He developed the design for Crossway using two distinct, parallel processes. Firstly, responding to the client (his wife) meant considering the “mechanics of a plan”. These are things like securing the best views, ensuring low running costs, opening up the house to the south, etc. A client lifestyle analysis is done, including everything from what time they wake up to how often they entertain.

    The other process is analysing how the landscape changes as you approach the plot from different directions, to determine what the house needs to do sculpturally to respond to each of the views. This was something Richard did intuitively with his piece of land: “For me, the context of any site has got rich things for you to respond to. You’ve just got to find them.”

    The design then emerges from these two processes. Crossway’s distinctive arch grew from a desire for the house to sit in amongst the ecology and the biodiversity of the land. And the design for one client project interpreted the qualities of the local flint to respond to the “defining characteristics of the local area”; the building is sharp and crisp outside, like the inside of flint but the white, soft-flowing curves of the courtyard evoke the outside of the stone.

    Crossway

    We need to keep pushing house design forward

    As well as acting as a good training mechanism for architects, Richard has a philosophical argument for protecting Paragraph 79. “If the policy weren’t there, I’d find that quite a sad reflection on where we are with design, where we are as a country with architecture. Look at all these houses going up with no aspirational policy there. I’d find that quite a sad place to be and quite short-sighted.”

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Hawkes Architecture

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    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Richard Hawkes

    Please connect with me

  • HPH185 : Why engaging in the planning process is so important

    HPH185 : Why engaging in the planning process is so important

    Ben Adam-Smith reviews what it took to be granted planning permission for his new Passivhaus home.

    A recap of the self build journey so far

    After buying a plot of land and hiring our architecture firm Parsons + Whittley, we briefed them on what we would like from our new home.

    We really liked the initial sketches and, through an iterative process, we developed the designs.

    One of the main constraints with our plot is the proximity to the neighbour (because this is effectively a garden plot) and so a lot of time was spent addressing the height of our proposed building.

    Finally we were ready for our planning submission.

     

    Planning applications can be viewed online

    Each local authority has a ‘public access’ planning portal. For example, I had to go through East Herts County Council.

    When you put in an application it will be posted for anyone to see.

    Supporting documents can be included with an application

    Due to the proximity of our plot to the neighbouring dwelling (we are effectively building in their old garden), we needed to demonstrate that there was no loss of amenity.

    So drawings were created to show how our designs compared with the extant consent.

    We also included a Passivhaus verification sheet to show we were serious about meeting the standard.

    Applications can be amended or withdrawn

    The planning process doesn’t have to be a case of submit your designs and wait for the outcome. There is the opportunity to engage with the planners and make it a two way process.

    So if there’s something they don’t like about the scheme, you can look at new solutions or withdraw your application completely.

    By managing the process you are far more likely to have a positive outcome.

     

    It is possible to get more time to address concerns

    For a small project, such as a house build, the planning process typically takes 8 weeks.

    However, it can be possible to get an extension before the final decision is made.

    For example, our planning application was not granted initially because our house was deemed to be ‘oppressive’ to the neighbour. However we were able to submit more evidence to show this was no worse than the extant consent. We also chose to lose our porch and move the house a further 700mm away from the neighbouring property. These alterations were sufficient for our planning application to be granted.

     

    Visual aids add clarity to an application

    Whilst these (such as the comparison drawings above) often take time to create they can be worth their weight in gold.

    Your local planning department is likely to be busy so if you can do anything to save them time and make the arguments ‘visual’ then it will probably be appreciated.

     

    Going to appeal is not as attractive as it sounds

    Any planning decision can be appealed. This generally introduces a 6-month delay. Quite often there may be other options in front of you, before you consider going to appeal.

    If you do appeal, someone independent (from another geographic area) will look at the case again. However, whatever decision they come to is final.

     

    Test your application against policy before submitting

    The application will be decided on planning grounds (unless you’re very unlucky!), so knowing you have thought through all the possible objections before making your application will take you a long way. Hopefully you can deal with them before they turn into an issue.

     

    There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to planning

    Unless you are building on a site like Graven Hill, where the planning has been done upfront and you simply have to adhere to the parameters, the planning constraints of your self build site are a slightly grey area. It takes you being in the process to unravel them one hundred percent (and even then different people may end up with different outcomes).

    For example, there were no set parameters for the height of my own house.

     

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Parsons + Whittley

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  • HPH154 : The challenges of building a new home in a rural community – with Jeremy Harris

    HPH154 : The challenges of building a new home in a rural community – with Jeremy Harris

    Jeremy Harris, a scientist by background, wanted a low energy house for his retirement. He talks about the initial stages of his self-build project: finding a plot of land and obtaining planning approval.

    Jeremy Harris

    Interview with Jeremy Harris

    Jeremy Harris, a scientist by background, wanted a low energy house for his retirement. He first came up with the idea that he might like to build a house around ten years ago.

    It’s important to fully understand the beginning of the self-build process

    Jeremy found television programmes and magazines rarely touch on finding a plot, designing a house to fit that plot, and the people you have to employ to do all of that work. It can be very expensive, costing thousands of pounds for planning consultants, architects, building control, etc.

    Plots can seem very nice on websites but look nothing like the photographs in reality

    Finding a plot of land was extremely hard. The Harrises drove several thousand miles, visiting disappointing plots. They began by looking at what they wanted to build, but Jeremy concluded this was the wrong way round: first find a plot, then determine what type of house will fit on it.

    Having walked away from one likely prospect, by chance they found their plot of land 16 miles from where they were living. It was too overgrown to see properly and fenced so they couldn’t get into it, but looked like it might be exactly what they wanted: facing south (i.e. good solar access) and in a sheltered valley.

    There's a plot in there somewhere!
    There’s a plot in there somewhere!

    Buying a plot is not the same as buying a house – ensure services will be available

    When buying a plot of land a solicitor can tell you if there’s a public footpath on it but won’t find out if you’ve got water, mains electricity, mains sewage or even if the boundaries are in the right place.

    Services in rural areas are often stretched to the limit. Jeremy had to ask the relevant utility companies if they could supply:

    1. Electricity? Fortunately there was plenty of power on their doorstep.
    2. Water? Companies have a statutory duty to supply water but the issue is cost. They’d have to dig up a lane for 140 metres and although Jeremy shopped around (anybody with a licence can do the digging), the minimum cost was still £24,500.
    3. Mains sewerage? There’s no statutory requirement to supply this and the cheapest the water company could provide it was £14,800.
    4. A new phone connection? Telecoms companies see self-builders as developers. If there isn’t enough capacity, they can charge whatever they want to lay a new multi-cable.

    As services would cost so much, Jeremy renegotiated the price accepted. The land hadn’t sold for eight years so he persuaded the vendor to knock off a substantial amount.

    Many building plots have boundaries in the wrong place where the Land Registry is concerned

    Plots of land don’t have registered boundaries as a rule. There was a boundary error affecting the Harrises’ plot meaning the house approved to go on it wouldn’t fit.

    The process for resolving boundary errors is complex and time consuming. It’s up to the vendor to do it, so you have to persuade them to spend money with Land Registry to get title plans amended. This often affects adjacent houses, as well as your plot, involving lenders as they have a right on the title.

    A stumbling block can sometimes turn out to be an opportunity

    It took them a year to get their boundary error resolved, but this allowed time to plan the project properly.

    Jeremy wrote a brief with eight key design points but the architects he approached didn’t seem to understand the role of design with low energy houses. Looking further afield for a Passivhaus specialist was an option, but thinking the distance might make communication difficult Jeremy decided he’d design their house himself.

    So the year was productively spent:

    • Evolving designs for the house
    • Tracking down the local Openreach engineer who offered help at no cost, as Jeremy planned to dig trenches on the plot and an underground network would solve local problems with overhead cables and trees
    • Discovering a borehole was possible, at half the cost of mains water
    • Planning a sewage treatment plant, costing around £3,500; much cheaper than digging up the lane

    This avoided inflaming an existing situation with the neighbours, as the plot had a chequered planning history, and saved money too!

    The borehole
    The borehole

    Once the principle of development is established by an approval, it’s extremely difficult for planners to remove it

    The Harrises’ plot had planning permission for a little stone bungalow that they didn’t want. As the local authority had approved the principle of putting a house on the plot, their plan was to submit a new application.

    Areas of outstanding natural beauty, conservation areas and proximity to listed buildings put constraints on what you can build. For example, needing to have all the external materials approved, as was the case with Jeremy’s house.

    Good communication paves the way for a smoother planning application process

    In Jeremy’s area, seven objection letters result in the application being referred to a planning committee, where emotions come into play far more than planning law.

    A previous application for the plot resulted in 14 objections at Parish Council level and dozens of letters. To mitigate objections for their application, Jeremy spoke to every neighbour, sent them regular update newsletters and even Christmas cards.

    He also made scale models, enabling all interested parties to understand the design before the planning application went in. His wife could look inside the rooms to see whether they were big enough, and the neighbours could see what the house might look like in the landscape. And the scale model played an important part at the Parish Council planning meeting, where applicants aren’t allowed to talk.

    model-sw-view-small

    “We had several cases where objectors turned to supporters”

    Jeremy eliminated concerns by talking them through with neighbours:

    Genuine concernsWhat Jeremy did
    New house would overload the sewage systemExplained they were putting in a sewage treatment plant instead
    Height of the house might block views or cast shadowsUsed the 3D scale model to show that the house would be set into the hillside (3m down)
    Being overlooked in their back gardenUsed the model to show that the garage blocked the view (neighbour was also happy the garage protected their vegetable patch from the wind)

    Engaging with local people is important but Jeremy adds a caveat: be cautious and put your foot down if neighbours ask for too much; at the end of the day it’s your plot and your house.

    The Harrises got through the planning stage with no letters of objection at all, so the decision was down to a Planning Officer purely based on the law and planning policies for the area, and approval was granted.

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Jeremy Harris

    Find out more

    Check out Jeremy’s blog on the project

     

    Please connect with me

     

  • HPH130 : A Passivhaus barn that embraces contextual design – with Lisa Jackson

    HPH130 : A Passivhaus barn that embraces contextual design – with Lisa Jackson

    Planning consultant Lisa Jackson talks us through her Fox Barn Passivhaus self build project.

    Lisa Jackson 4

     

    Interview with Lisa Jackson

    Lisa has been running her planning consultancy business for the last 7 years. She also trained as an assessor for the Code for Sustainable Homes, which is what started her interest in energy efficiency and thinking about building in a different way. Her husband has a background in construction and is a town planner, so their combined skills in sustainability, construction and planning, all proved invaluable when it came to taking on their own self build project.

     

    RICS Red Book was used to get a valuation of the potential plot

    Originally Lisa and her husband had bought the house next door as a DIY project. It was the worst house in the village and they realised they couldn’t afford to develop it the way they hoped, but it was on a really good plot. So they approached their neighbour who agreed to sell half of his plot for them to build their house. Lisa and her husband owned the access and the neighbour owned the frontage. After getting the plot professionally valued via the RICS Red Book it was determined to be a 50/50 split. They came to a formal arrangement, whereby should planning permission be granted the neighbour would give them the option to purchase the land.

    Lisa Jackson 3

     

    Don’t be afraid to revise your planning application

    The house needed to be relatively low key and contextual in terms of design, as it was an infill plot between a thatched cottage and a one and a half storey bungalow, and was replacing a single storey agricultural barn style of building. They achieved planning consent for a 4-bedroom house.

    However, after more research, Lisa and her husband decided they wanted to build to Passivhaus standard. With the help of timber frame specialists Touchwood Homes they were able to adapt the designs relatively easily. They worked on increasing the insulation and reducing the amount of glazing on the north elevation.

    They then submitted a section 73 application with the changes and were issued with a new consent.

    Lisa points out that if you’re looking to buy a plot of land which has already been granted planning consent, you shouldn’t feel coerced into using that design. She says that there’s every opportunity, if it stays within the constraints, to make changes using the section 73 application for the interior and even some of the external features.

    Lisa Jackson 2

     

    “Don’t make a planning application for what you want, make a planning application for what you’ll get consent for”

    This is advice that Lisa gives to her clients. She suggests looking at all the guidance (in terms of conservation areas, village design statements and character studies) and making sure that your application is policy compliant. She thinks it can be easy to get carried away with designing the house that you desperately want to build, but if it doesn’t pay any regard to its context then the application is likely to fail.

    From her own experience as a planning officer, Lisa advises careful consideration of how drawings are presented in the planning application. She often found CAD drawings to not fully reflect how the building would look, have little light and shade, and no feeling of the materials. In comparison, hand drawings would often bring it to life more effectively.

    “So presentation to my mind is everything and winning over the hearts and mind of that planning officer, because that’s what you’ve got to do and they’ve got to love it like you do.”

     

    People want certification if they’re buying a house without radiators!

    Lisa’s decision to go for Passivhaus certification was partly based on being a sensible business decision to enable her to persuade clients to go for certification. Having the certification also helps with the re-sale, because it demonstrates to potential purchasers that while it may not yet be the conventional approach, it actually does work.

    Lisa Jackson 1

     

    Live nearby to your plot during construction

    After selling their old home to release equity to finance the project, they decided to rent a nearby house. Lisa fully recommends that anyone doing their own self build.

    During the construction Lisa’s husband was diagnosed and treated for cancer. As Lisa says, the silver lining was that he was able to spend his recovery period on site project managing the build, which actually aided his recovery and gave her the time to concentrate on running her business.

     

    Certain jobs fall between trade skills

    The house was made from Touchwood Homes’ ‘light and tight’ timber frame which was pre-cut off-site, and insulated with Warmcel recycled newspaper.

    They used a local team of tradespeople who they were very pleased with, but still found that they ended up doing some of the work themselves where certain jobs fell between skills and there was no one else to do it.

     

    A good mortgage broker can really help if you need to re-finance

    During the winter of 2011 they realised that there was a gap in their finances of £60,000. They managed to borrow some of the money from a relative, but also had to extend their mortgage – a process which Lisa says was made more difficult by the providers’ lack of knowledge about what’s involved in the self build process. She does however credit her mortgage broker with being a huge help and making a big difference.

     

    Take professional advice where possible

    When they moved in 3 years ago it still felt like a building site, but completing the landscaping after the first year made a huge difference. Also, creating happy memories in the house turns it more into a home.

    Lisa recommends taking good professional advice where possible and she suggests that if you’re looking for a good planning consultant go through the Royal Town Planning Institute or look at the Planning Portal to see who’s managed to get planning permissions in your area.

    She also feels in hindsight they should have employed the services of a lighting designer, as they slightly over-specified on lighting.

    Above all she thinks you need to be brave and prepared to put in the hard work. She says her husband thinks it took him a couple of years to really recover from the whole experience, however he is already talking about the next one!

    Lisa Jackson

     

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Lisa Jackson.

     

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Jackson Planning

    Follow Jackson Planning on Instagram

     

    NSBRC Summer Show

    The National Self Build and Renovation Centre are holding their summer show on June 17th to 19th. There will be exhibitors, seminars and a variety of experts and self builders taking part, including Ben Adam-Smith! Ben will be talking at 1pm on Friday 17th June about the Passivhaus standard. Throughout his time on this podcast he has visited over 30 certified Passivhauses and is keen to share the experiences and advice he has been given along the way.

    Following Ben’s talk there will also be a meet-up for Hub members, so he’s looking forward to seeing you there!

     

    Please connect with me

  • HPH112 : Getting planning permission for a self build – with Phill Skill

    HPH112 : Getting planning permission for a self build – with Phill Skill

    Phill Skill, Lead Business Consultant at Stroud District Council (but Head of Planning for 10 years before that), shares an overview of what you need to know about the planning process if you’re intending to self build.

    Phill 1

    Interview with Phill Skill

    Phill’s background is in building surveying. After relocating to the Cotswolds he started work as a building inspector before moving into planning, and around 10 years ago becoming Head of Planning at Stroud District Council. During that time he also appeared in the TV series, “The Planners”.

    With the four nations of the UK having their own planning systems, we’re going to be focusing on England.

     

    Local plans must comply with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

    The NPPF was introduced by the coalition government to replace hundreds of thousands of sheets of policy documents with a more streamlined and basic document of around 50 pages; the intention being to make it easier for developers and communities to understand the rules. It sets out broad, basic rules such as development should be sustainable, and each local authority should have a 5-year land supply, while leaving the detail to the local authority in its local plan of how it needs to be achieved.

    The local plan decides what can happen in which fields at a local district council level. In the big metropolitan authorities (ie Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham etc.) it’s dealt with at city council level.

    The local plan is expected to take into account local characteristics and local needs, so if there’s a large number of people saying they want to self build then the local authority should allocate a percentage of build for self-builders. They can also put limits on some of the smaller scale development, such as infill plots, which often they like to keep reserved for local builders, thus keeping the money in the local economy.

     

    It can be worth asking your local authority about land opportunities

    Phill gives an example from his local authority, where their recently completed local plan states that developers are required to reserve a certain percentage as serviced plots for self builds.

    In reality, Phill suspects that what will happen is these will be snapped up by tradespeople / one-man builders. As these plots need to be purchased from the developer, Phill thinks these people might be more clued up on the process to access finance and act faster. Essentially these are single plots being designed and built individually, albeit not necessarily for the final owner.

    Phill explains that the local plans are there to be debated and with around 50% still to be formalised, he suggests getting involved with local councillors and planning authorities to encourage them to be more specific about how the rules will apply.

     

    There are two main aspects of planning

    Use of land

    What you intend to use land for is controlled in planning. By default, all land in this country is agricultural unless it has been granted another use. If for example you wanted to extend your garden into the field beyond, you would need to apply for planning permission as it is a change of use from agricultural to domestic.

    Aesthetics

    This covers what you intend to put on the land and what it is going to look like. If you’re intending to put something quite out of place with its surroundings then planners have to consider the ‘street scene’, ie is what you are proposing going to be jarring to the eye. The exception to this is if what is being proposed could be considered an exemplar building. That is, of such high quality that if it was going to jar the eye, it should be so spectacular that you actually want to draw the eye to it. Phill cites the glass pyramid at the Louvre entrance as an example.

     

    Phill explains that small home extensions that fall within a certain scale, while still regulated by planning, are granted by right under permitted development so don’t need to go through the formality of applying and getting planning permission.

     

    Building on farmland is “nigh on impossible”!

    Phill suggests that in today’s environment it’s highly unlikely that you’d be able to go onto a farmer’s field and build a single unit.

    Greenfield development is the preserve of the volume house builders who are looking for plots for perhaps hundreds or thousands of houses.

    Phill’s recommendation for finding land is to look for garden infills in an existing settlement, ie building in back gardens or knocking a small house down on a large plot and building two or three in its place.

     

    You can apply for planning permission on land that you don’t own

    As an example, Phill says that as long as you paid the fee and notified the Queen in writing, you could put in a planning application for a gazebo at Buckingham Palace!

    On a more practical level, this can work to your advantage if you don’t want to take the risk of buying a property in the hope that you will get planning permission. Instead you could negotiate a higher price with the current vendor on a subject to planning basis (buying under option), which gives you the reassurance that if they get the planning permission they are contracted to sell to you. If permission isn’t granted then you can walk away and they have been left with the costs.

    If there is a plot that you are considering it can be worth speaking confidentially to your planning office about its chances. While their advice isn’t binding they can certainly give an idea based on previous experience.

     

    There are two main types of planning permission

    While there are a plethora of different types, and so long as you aren’t making changes to a listed building, the two most likely to be relevant to a self-builder are ‘outline’ and ‘full’.

    Outline application

    This is about the principle of development. You don’t even need to show the the size or shape of the buildings, just an ordnance survey plot plan showing how the site would be accessed. This costs around half the price of the full application and you don’t need to go the expense of paying fees to have drawings produced etc.  Once outline permission is given you would need to return with ‘reserved matters’ applications which fill in all the gaps.

    This is used commonly by solicitors looking to get the best sale price of an estate for the beneficiaries of a will. It’s also used by developers with a build process that might take several years so aren’t in a position to determine finishes at this stage.

    Full application

    This covers everything – so where the building’s going to go, what it looks like, how it will be accessed, what the landscaping will be etc. If this is approved you are then in a position to progress straight away.

    Example Plan
    Example Plan

     

    The application fees don’t cover the full cost of the application process

    The fees for planning applications are set nationally. Typically it costs around £1200 for the council to process an application, but the fee you pay to them is around £300-£400 for a single dwelling. The remainder is paid for by council tax. Phill suggests that to some extent this is right because the community has a financial say, ie they’re paying for the planning committee etc.

     

    There is an appeals process if permission is refused

    Although around 95% of applications are approved, others might be refused on the following grounds:

    Unsustainable – so if where you intend to build is extremely rural and you’re going to need to use a car to get anywhere. Phill explains that the government is trying to make us lead more urban lifestyles, an example being it is easier for social care departments to service a lot more people in densely populated urban areas.

    Landscape – the building might be ugly and detrimental to the landscape.

    Overbearing – while there’s no legal ‘right to light’ in planning, neighbours are protected in that the building can not be overshadowing or overbearing.

    Highways – your access point might be on a dangerous corner or it doesn’t allow for car parking.

     

    If you have your application refused by the local authority but still want to proceed there are two options. Firstly, there is a free re-submission so you can make a re-design and try again. Secondly, you can take your case to the planning inspectorate who will appoint an independent inspector to review the decision.

     

     

    Find out more

    Follow Phill Skill on Twitter

    Read Phill’s blog

     

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Phill Skill.

     

    Find out more about planning permission in The Hub

    We also have a module in The Hub on planning permission. This is for you if you want to go a bit more in depth. We’ve got a case study with Kingsley Barraclough and his experience of going through the planning system and we’ve also got more from Phill in there which will help cement what you’ve learned from this podcast.

     

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