Planning Application thoughts - can you take a look?

riverboat2001

I'm going back to the house my offer has been accepted on to check a number of things out. Especially taking a look at whether the other houses have had an extension done.
I personally would love a two storey one, but on checking the councils plans i can see a complaint about the house i''m after.

But things don't seem to tally.
The house has been rented out by an old man to tenants over quite a while. So i'm not convinced any planning application would ever have been made. He's owned the house for years (possibly since new 1940's) He still lives in the road and is selling off his other two properties as well.
House is really dated and needs plenty of tlc.


ANYWAY, to the question: On going on the Planning site for the local council it says:


04/0402/COMPEnforcement CaseEnforcement Enquiry
AND
Apart from the House address not much else except.

Extension pd? (in the Nature box)
Complaint (Type of case)
Case Closed (status)
Decision (No Details)
Reason For Decision (No Details)
Reason for Close (No Details)


Any Ideas?

G_M

Go to the council offices and speak to a Planning Officer. He'll also advise on the likelihood of a planning application being granted.

Gwhiz

You do realise that ANYONE can apply for planning permission - even on property they do not own?

So it could have been the old man thinking of improving and selling, or someone looking to buy, or a developer or anyone.

Edited to add...as above, go talk to the planning dept.

riverboat2001

Gwhiz wrote: »

You do realise that ANYONE can apply for planning permission - even on property they do not own?

So it could have been the old man thinking of improving and selling, or someone looking to buy, or a developer or anyone.

Strange when i asked about that they said that you couldn't apply for anything on a property you don't own!

The other thing is that there was a complaint about whatever was put in.
Main reason for extension would be to move the bathroom upstairs!

chris_m

You can apply "in principle" - otherwise you'd never get developers buying sites to redevelop. They ain't going to spend money buying to then find that they can't do roughly what they wanted. The detailed application comes after acquisition and may well be altered from the "in principle" one though.

riverboat2001

Well, Google IS my friend, i've looked at all the houses along the same stretch of road, and i would say 80% of the have extensions and of those probably 20% look like they could be 2 storey, and a few have hugely extended all around the back and sides of their properties.

I would still buy the property anyway, but would have the cash in about two years time to make it really lovely.

smcqis

From the information you have provided, it would appear an extension was added under PD ie permitted development that doesnt require a planning application (due to its size). A complaint could have been put in by someone and enforcement department investigated but closed it as found to be within PD rights.

RLH33

This doesn't appear to relate to an actual application for planning permission. It is a record of a complaint being made by someone about an existing extension to this house, it has been logged as an enforcement complaint and the Enforcement Officers have obviously looked into it and then closed the file. There is very little more you can glean so it would be best to ring the Planning Office and see if they can give you some more info.

jimmy230

The PD? is a reference to whether whatever was built was Permitted Development under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. Where an enforcement notice is issued the owner has a minimum of 28 days to comply before the Council prosecutes. Given this notice was served in 2004, it more than likely that this matter is concluded. That said, an enforcement notice is effective against the owner of the property, if you purchase a property against which there is a live enforcement notice, you are also liable to be prosecuted if you do not comply with it.

As others have said, speak with the Council. Don't ask for a planning officer, ask for an enforcement officer. Your solicitor should have commissioned a local search on the property (depending how far along you are with the purchase). If the enforcement notice is still active, it will appear as a local land charge on the search.