Planning an extension - where to begin?

waveyjane

waveyjane wrote: »

Having just come to the end (almost) of having a single-storey rear extension built on my terraced house here in London, here are my tips, for what they are worth:

Heh - just read the OP again and it's about planning permission, not general advice on how to go about the design and build process. Oh well, I've been meaning to write down my thoughts for a bit, so maybe my off-topic reply might help somebody.

:rolleyes:

leekat21

For what it's worth, I can give you my experiences to date. It's taken me and my OH a year to get planning permission for our 2 storey extension. We live down a single track road with no house (other than the one we are attached to who submitted plans for exactly the same thing at the same time) within half a mile of us.

Every council will be different, but our initial 'dream' plan was for large living room downstairs and 2 bedrooms, one with ensuite upstairs. It would have doubled the size of the original property which is a 1901 semi cottage. The plans were drawn by a local architect who has done several jobs in the area and has a 'good' relationship with the planning department. First plan was rejected when sent in for informal consultation as 'too large' and 'impact on streetscene' and not in keeping with original building.

Before scaling back too much, we asked if there was a % that would be considered acceptable. No actual figure was given but we were told that if we lost the 2nd bedroom and stepped extension back about 60cm from front of existing house (so you can see it's an addition) then that would help.

We then submitted to planning what they suggested and we got permission. Being rather greedy, we also resubmitted and amendment to permitted plans and now have permission for large living room with chimney and garden room downstairs and large bedroom with ensuite upstairs.

I live in Oxfordshire and have been dealing with Cherwell, it's not been easy. They are resistant to development and it has already seemed like a hard slog and that's just to get permission.

Our plans have always been submitted in conjunction with our neighbours to show that the cottages will still be symmetrical. We would have had no hope if just one of us wanted to extend despite the fact we are not overlooked.

We have paid our architect about £50 an hour and he has done all dealings with planning dept. He will also work on ad hoc basis with builder when works starts due to some complexities in design.

Total costs for the build of around 70 square metres is approx £75k as per our 5 quotes so far!

dander

My best tip to anyone embarking on building an extension is to pay out a tenner or so for a copy of the Haynes Extension manual - I found it really helpful - takes you through all the stages, explaining things so it's clear to non-experts. I investigated quite a lot of books on the subject and this is head and shoulders above the others.


http://www.haynes.co.uk/press/Releases_HTML/070319_HomeExtPR_haynes_press_release.htm

MsAnderson

You could pick up a copy of Homebuilding and Renovation, or something similar - they feature recently completed extensions projects, not just self builds. Most mags come with a basic costing that might help. Also check out their websites, lots of useful info there.

Just a comment about architects, you can also plump for an architectural technication - not full blown qualification but if its a straight forward design, they will be helpful. Also remember that planning and building regs are two different processes. You'll need a set of drawings for both, each has different requirements. Planning is the asthetics, regs are the health and safety.

Good luck!