This Time I'm Really Going To Do It

Watty1

Interviewed potential planning consultant over phone.   I have one for the barn but I have a feeling I'm a "money source" rather than any investment in outcome.  It is just a feeling but I think that, having taken their advice and spent a lot on architects etc only to be told that the borough council would never approve the plans, I have a sense they could have been clearer and possibly known. The final straw for me was when they sent the council an example of a conversion and said see you approved this and the council wrote back and said that is not in the borough and actually we would not have approved it as it is not legally compliant with Class Q.   (Class Q is a lighter touch planning permission for old barns).

I rang two potentials and one immediately told me that the local council had had a "change" of attitude due to council changes and i would never have got the idea through, they also do a lot of work with local farms, claim to have had more "Class Q" conversions approved locally and were just so calm that I liked them.  The other has a class Q expert who will get back to me.  

The first one also has managed what I can only describe as a local village at a farm about 5 buildings away by converting industrial and workshop units and I'm so impressed as the conversions are lovely and everything has been converted from the pool house to a shed and now they are building a new farm barn!

I can only say that the feeling I have is similar to the feeling I had with my solicitor handling the separation from ex. The bills were spiralling and I dreaded their calls.

This fits with the June focus on finance because doing something with that barn might help me regain the money I lost to the ex by using my income to pay off the mortgage rather than invest it in my name.  It was "spare income" after my bills etc were paid and ever £100 off the mortgage realistically gave him £50 tax free.    I'm still angry with the legal inequality but there is nothing I can do except earn money for my future and see if I can exploit what i have here to potentially make some money so I can continue to live where I love but reduce my working hours so I can have fun with my horses.

Suffolk_lass

Here, the barns that are able to be converted must be redundant agricultural - which by my council's interpretation also extends to not storing anything in them. If you have some time and enjoy research, your local planning authority will almost certainly have an online planning portal with the ability to search keywords and check out some schemes that have passed and failed - crucially, with all the correspondence (not just the planning official's letter granting or refusing the permission, all the objection letters and comments from the statutory consultees (and who these are)).

I found this tremendously helpful and then paid for my pre-planning advice (a flat fee) and sat down with the conservation architect plus a planning officer and picked their brains. For example, our proposal to put in a row of cart-lodge style storage areas (for vehicles, equipment and machinery) with accommodation over, needed to be secondary in scale and size to the original building, so modifying this to a smaller scale was needed. 

We learned from our architect who suggested he first have a pre-planning discussion on what would be likely to be accepted in terms of in-fill or back garden development. Much cheaper and ahead of expensive plans and their time.

You are looking for the right things. Don't forget that a planning consultant's experience may be part of an architectural practice offering, but the skills and experience are quite different and separate, and you do not need to buy both parts from the same place, or indeed, at all. If you have a draughtsman friend you could piggy back on a previous successful scheme by emulating it), and get (much cheaper) plans to test in pre-planning. I think clues like dimensions that fit with standard sized bricks, beams, timber and window sizes all help to keep the costs down, as they remove the need for things to be cut so much (with the associated labour costs). Detailed plans need to include all of these. 

Humdinger1

@watty1 I am 100% confident that you will find a way to make back ALL of the money you paid off that mortgage and more...and without being in hock to a man who couldn't (for mental health reasons he was unable to get to grips with, not didn't want to) be in a committed relationship.   I know it's sad at times...my EXH was in a similar position and though now happily married to a functioning adult, I am overcome by sadness occasionally at the dreams I had to let go to reach my current life.  But this truly is occasional these days  and the unreality will recede for you over time like it has for me.  Trust your instincts re the planners.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

Watty1

Thanks Suffolk Lass and Humdinger. You both make great points. 

I'll try and do some research ahead of meeting on Monday.  I had not found any class Q conversions in the area but the planning portal is awful to use so I think I got fed up looking.  Ready for Monday however i have all my reports nicely filed and have sent them over in advance too.    I liked this chap on the phone, quietly confident he would think of "something" so we shall see.

Watty1

June Finances!

I have  started tracking expenditure, costed out house renovations and worked out how much I need per month.    I have done all this assuming I will continue to live in the house and the "dream" of moving into a small barn conversion will not happen.  I'm using the  "plan for the worst work for the best" idea so I am clear.

The good news was that I can afford to live here alone and all will be well all the time I am working.  In other news my living costs are high. I read some statement of affairs on here to get ideas for getting costs down but not posting one as clearly 3 horses and Wattydog are an extravagance and the feral cat's food budget will cause hilarity (she has stomach issues on nearly all commercial cat foods).

Karmacat

Maybe keep the animals' expenses private?  Or focus on ways to bring down/eliminate your expenses?  Things that you *do* generally seem pretty money-saving, I must say.  So setting up your living space - comms, insulation, ventilation, fuel source, etc - should focus on minimising ongoing costs?  There's a breakeven point there, of course.  Working it through gradually, so you can think things through properly, seems the best way, and that's exactly what you're doing.

Watty1

Thanks KC.  A very good point.   I have "almost" planted a border with plants from elsewhere in the garden.  I have 3 spaces each about 1 metre square that need filling and I will buy something with flowers for those but I am so pleased with efforts. I have dug up plants and split with spade or fork into baby plants and relocated. Not sure how much will take but if it all does then when it fills out it will look good and have been free!

Watty1

Thinking over expenditure.  Looking at each line on the costs front and thinking about if savings could be made slowly might be the way to go.   
In this way I have decided not to change two of the horses bedding as although it is more expensive it works out cheaper in the long run because I used less. The charming cob will stay on recycled cardboard because he doesn't eat it and it might help avoid future colic.  Recycled cardboard should be the cheaper option but having worked it out it is not.

Watty1

In other news, Village Bingo night.  I won £65, the VNM won £20 and friend we went with won a bottle of fizz on the raffle and we all agreed it was a lovely night out even if WattyDog who was allowed to come stole a pigs ear from friends puppy

Suffolk_lass

I'm shocked that the recycled cardboard is more expensive. All our bee equipment from one supplier comes packed in shredded cardboard. We (re)use some in our smoker but it is a little hot and the bees don't like it (rotten wood is better).

I love that Wattydog took his chance! Our miniature Dachshund was weighed last week when DH took him to get his claws clipped - we had just realised he can now leap up onto the bench-double-chair at the dining room table and had been stealing the cats food (all of it!) - he was over half a kilo heavier than normal - sounds OK until you work out that it is more than 10% of his normal weight of 4.7k. Needless to say, he is on a bit of a no-treats diet for a couple of weeks!