Extremely worried over old rear extension !

hethmar

Mags, get the new extension done properly and signed off, forget about everything else - time has moved on, no one will remember about the pp after all these years and you may be there for many more years yet.

planning_officer

terry2 wrote: »

It has been possible to extend your house without PP for a long time but the conditions were tighter. (so mags269 the previous extension may well have been legal as PP might not have been required). However I agree the rules have now relaxed.

They have been relaxed in some areas but tightened up a lot in others - for example, in a conservation area, you could extend a semi-detached property to the side by up to 50 cu m before 1 Oct 08 (subject to various height restrictions), but now you can't extend to the side at all and you can't even extend at 2 storey level at the rear at all either. In conservation areas and AONBs the rules are definitely more strict.

terry2 wrote: »

Unfortunately all the PP concessions are based around the size of the house as ORIGINALLY built. When deciding if PP is required it is the total size of the expansions from the original that counts and not the size of the current extension.

That's not really true any more - extension used to count cumulatively before 1 Oct 08, as they were based on volumes, but now each extension is independent. For example, you could extend to the rear, and then later on to the side, then to the other side, etc, provided the relevant criteria are met. However, I agree that if you have already extended 2m to the rear on a semi (for example), then you can't add another 2m, as that would exceed the 3m depth allowed beyond the original rear wall.

planning_officer

Mags269 wrote: »

So - would it be a problem that the existing extension that was built without PP is shown on the plans? What would be the council's reaction?

The Council won't give it a second thought! I see unauthorised extensions quite often, but if they've obviously been there for years, or are perfectly acceptable in planning terms anyway, we don't even blink at them - the Council will only be assessing the extension that you are proposing. Don't include the existing extension as part of the proposal - have that drawn as part of the existing house, as it will make things so much easier!

asbokid

planning_officer wrote: »

The Council won't give it a second thought! I see unauthorised extensions quite often, but if they've obviously been there for years, or are perfectly acceptable in planning terms anyway, we don't even blink at them

Tell that to poor Sylvester Nseowo!

A respected chartered accountant, Mr Nseowo was given a lengthy custodial sentence for breaking draconian planning rules when he built a simple but elegant extension to his Telford home.

From the website of the state broadcaster:

Mr Nseowo claims he is constructing "a beautiful and expensive extension".

A judge has already described the building work as "a clear and blatant breach of planning law".

But Mr Nseowo has steadfastly refused to take the building down.

In a letter to planners he said: "The land does not belong to Telford and Wrekin council. "Therefore you are irrelevant. "Your views stop where my land begins. Do you understand that I have every right to build on my land?"

JAILED: Sylvester Nseowo,
the Planning Martyr

seven-day-weekend

Mags, I too have worked in Planning.

The person who draws your plans will have to show the house as it is now, as well as what it will look like with the new extension.

I don't think for a minute the planners will even query your exisiting extension, because a) it may not have needed permission in the first place and b) even if it did, it is now too old to have any action taken against it.

If it will make you feel better, just write the Council a letter with a sketch plan of your existing extension showing the measurements (you can do this yourself, it doesn't have to be drawn to scale in these circumstances) and ask them for a letter to say that it either did not need permission or is now exempt from enforcement action.. I stress that it is not necessary to have this letter, but it may make you feel better if you have something 'formal' that you can put with your deeds in the event of a future sale. I used to write these letters all the time, the situation you describe is very common.

Please take the very sensible advice from all the replies you've had in this thread and then don't worry about it any more.

clutton_2

nothing will ever stop mags from worrying .....

hethmar

Chloroform her, put in the planning application and wake her up when the brickies are already on site.

old_codger1

asbokid wrote: »

Tell that to poor Sylvester Nseowo!

A respected chartered accountant, Mr Nseowo was given a lengthy custodial sentence for breaking draconian planning rules when he built a simple but elegant extension to his Telford home.

Oh yeah, very elegant 'Respected' chartered accountant. The guy's a nutter.

If you're reasonable with planning they're usually reasonable with you.

bikerqueen

Is the problem that yo u haven't told your husband what the solicitor said, and so every time you discuss it you think the extension is going to be an issue and feel awful, and hes oblivious?

confess.

You will feel better.

Doozergirl

asbokid wrote: »

Tell that to poor Sylvester Nseowo!

A respected chartered accountant, Mr Nseowo was given a lengthy custodial sentence for breaking draconian planning rules when he built a simple but elegant extension to his Telford home.

From the website of the state broadcaster:

I remember seeing that on the Midlands news. The council came and took it down themselves in the end. Look at the state of it though, how can anyone build something that badly? It was ridiculous!

Hopefully Mags your extension doesn't look like that one! :rotfl: