Could I squeeze a house in.......

nubbins

[IMG]http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/<a href=http://s155.photobucket.com/user/davisc02/media/Untitled-1.jpg.html target=_blank rel=nofollow>[/img]Just in the process of buying a house that needs a bit of TLC and was considering some other options.

There is a reasonably busy road running along the front of the current house which you cannot access from the front but I think I could apply for a dropped kerb so you come into the current house from the main road. I was wondering if in fact another detached house could be added to the side which would be access from the side road. The building behind the proposed new build (in green) is a double garage with a sunroom attached which is not in great shape and could be knocked down. The proposed building in green measures 70sqm

phill99

If its a purely mathematical exercise of getting x square feet into y sized plot, then the answer is yes.

However, if you're asking about planning permission, then the only people that can answer this is your local planning authority.

eddddy

As phill99 suggests, have a chat with your planning department.

Some planning departments will give an informal opinion if you turn up with photos, sketches etc. Others might want you to make a written 'pre-application enquiry' and charge you a fee.

You mention creating a new access onto a busy main road. The Highways Authority may to object to that for safety reasons - especially right next to what looks like a crossroads junction.

It might be more acceptable to have parking for the existing house in it's back garden, with a driveway running behind the new house.


(I'm guessing the photo of the merc with the GURU reg plate isn't related to this question!)

silvercar

Depends on your LA's views on a property being accessed from a major road, density of housing, the proposed property being in front of the building line of other houses in that road....

DaftyDuck

Spam at #4 (above silvercar at the mo) reported, so will be deleted...

So, OP, following spammie's advice, how far are you from Colorado Springs, and d'ya think he can help you out??? Really??? So, it's not in your State!


Anyhow...
Obviously, Planning would be your main problem, and the likely objection would be access too close to the junction. If that is their main, or only, objection, a resubmission that used your in-use drive as a shared drive would sort that out.

A lesser possibility would be to flog a small part of that to the neighbour, who doesn't appear to have a garage. Far less profitable, but much easier.

Foxy-Stoat_3

You would need to speak to your lender about devaluing the current property by halving the plot area as well, assuming you have enough cash to fund the new build.

planning_officer

The other potential issue from a planning point of view is the impact on the character of the area - the new house would stick right out towards the road towards the west and would be sited far closer to the road than others. Would look pretty prominent and intrusive coming south down that road, as it would jut out uncharacteristically in views down the road. Depends on how strongly the LPA feel about that though!

Soot2006

In my area, the planners would greenlight this before you could even finish your sentence. We are desperate for housing, and also desperate not to build on greenfield sites ... In my immediate surrounding of my streets and the 2 nearest, there have been 5 new houses built this year, squeezing onto the end of plots.

Hated it at first, but then I realised I hated the idea of losing our surrounding fields even more, so if people want to make some money AND help put new houses on the market, then why not. What most of the people here do of course is build the house of their dreams on their bit of land, move into that and sell the original.