Buying house subject to planning permission? / Tree in neighbour's property

janeausten26

We came across a corner single-storey house in a good location that sits on what is formerly the rear garden of an adjacent property. The former owners built a double garage on the rear garden, and the house is, for lack of a better description, rather ugly.

We are thinking of purchasing the house with a view to knocking down and rebuilding a substantially larger house (with basement and at least one additional storey above). The area is full of 3-4 storey Victorian terraces, and we would be happy to build a house with a design sympathetic to the surrounding.

One problem is a huge lime tree in a neighbour's garden behind the house in question. The tree is situated about 1-2 metres from the boundary. A quick search reveals that the tree is under a tree preservation order, and it had previously been "pruned"/"reduced" as recently as in Nov 2014 (and also in 2000).

Our concerns are 1) that the branches (and leaves, in spring/summer) encroach over the boundary, and may pose problems in case we decide to build the house 2 storeys up, and 2) the tree may cause damage to our building in the future or the roots may present problems if we want to build a basement.

We would not go ahead with the purchase if we're not able to demolish and rebuild with a basement and additional stories, as the size of the house as is simply would not work for us (and not to mention it is not particularly aesthetically pleasing).

How should we go ahead? We are thinking of:
- Engaging a planning consultant/surveyor/tree surgeon to view the property for their views on what could be done with respect to our rebuild ideas
- Offering on the property/agreeing a price with the vendor subject to us obtaining satisfactory planning permission (which would cover what needs to be done with the tree)

Also, in terms of finances, would we be able to obtain a self-build mortgage given that we intend to knock it down and rebuild, by providing plans of the property after PP is obtained? (We should be comfortable with putting down 20-25% of the house + build cost.)

Any views/suggestions appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Waterlily24

I'm not sure if it would be the same now but in 2008 we bought a small bungalow with the intention of either pulling it down or extending - we would have preferred to knock it down, the drawback was that we couldn't have the new build as big as the old with an extension. We extended, we do come under 'countryside' so not sure if that made a difference. We had all sorts of problems with the council to get permission. It was a nightmare.

Can't help with the tree I'm afraid, in our last house a neighbour had some protected lime trees overhanging her garden, they got permission to have them lopped and lopped a bit more than they should have - whoops.

janeausten26

Thanks waterlily! Did you go ahead with the purchase without planning permission in hand?

We're in central London, so land with space for the potential to demolish/rebuild is very rare!

eddddy

Hi janeausten26

So I guess you're thinking about an option agreement or conditional contract with the vendor. Many vendors won't be keen on that.

Obtaining planning consent might end up costing many thousands of pounds, and take many months (possibly even a year or more).

Most vendors would expect a reasonable chunk of extra profit for being 'in limbo' for that time, and unable to sell their property.

And obviously, you lose thousands if consent isn't granted.



(You almost certainly wont get permission to prune the tree or cut its roots to accommodate new building. In fact, it's likely to be the opposite. You might have to go to extreme lengths to prove to the council that you will not be damaging the tree.

If it was pruned in Nov 2014, it was probably to safeguard an existing building, not to allow new building to take place.)

janeausten26

Thanks eddddy -- your advice is well-noted. We were not optimistic either that the tree would not cause problems!

Doozergirl

Again, the tree needs to be protected. Building control would expect deep foundations because of it, but, it sounds lime you want to build within the canopy which will affect the root structure heavily. A problem.

A chat with an architect or the planning office about how they expect to build around a tree would be in order.

It might be easier to get permission to build the existing house upwards than a brand new house.

Davesnave

Lime trees grow to 100' with a spread of perhaps 60' and they need a similar amount of structure below ground as above, so if your intended building falls close to or within the canopy, it's unlikely you would receive permission.

Due to the inevitable presence of sap-sucking insects on limes, with the sticky exudate many thousands of these produce, siting a building very close to them would be an unsatisfactory arrangement anyway. The owners would be forever cleaning up the mess, and the mould which grows on this sugary substance.

Yes, I have lived beside limes, fortunately only briefly!

Waterlily24

janeausten26 wrote: »

Thanks waterlily! Did you go ahead with the purchase without planning permission in hand?

We're in central London, so land with space for the potential to demolish/rebuild is very rare!

Hi Janeausten26

Yes we did go ahead with the purchase without planning permission. In the end we sort of got what we wanted but had to go up rather than keep it as a bungalow. It was very difficult though, they first said the roof was too high (it's a chalet bungalow now, why on earth do they call them bungalows lol) the house nearest to us is a 'proper' house so much higher than ours. It really was a nightmare, took us over two years to get the permission.

Good luck.

Waterlily24

One other thing to consider is that if you do a new build you can claim the VAT back, I am assuming that the rules are the same now as they were when we did ours. This does mean a complete new build though.

When we did our extension there were only the outside walls and a couple of internal walls left but we couldn't claim the VAT back.

camptownraces

eddddy wrote: »

.

You almost certainly wont get permission to prune the tree or cut its roots to accommodate new building. In fact, it's likely to be the opposite. You might have to go to extreme lengths to prove to the council that you will not be damaging the tree.

If it was pruned in Nov 2014, it was probably to safeguard an existing building, not to allow new building to take place.)

Indeed.

Not only would you need planning permission for a new build, you would also need a "tree protection plan" before you were permitted to start work any where near the lime with the TPO. These can be quite draconian.

You could seek advice from an arboriculturalist about what's feasible to apply for, and what it might cost. Tree surgeons tend to be the nuts and bolts end of the business.