Advice on architect error

Derekgoodwin

Wondering if anyone can offer help. We appointed a building and design company in march 2016 to draw plans for a single story side extension on our bungalow. The design package we paid for stated they would raise and submit all necessary paperwork for the local authorities. The architect said we didn't need planning permission as it fell under permitted development.

On 30 March 2016 we signed the contract with the building/design company, which also stated planning permission wasnt required. The plans were drawn up and building notice/building regs applied for and work commenced on 9 May 2016.

In august 2016 we received a letter from the local council who said they had a complaint from a neighbour that we hadn't obtained planning permission. We forwarded the plans to the council saying we had been informed it fell under permitted development. The council then asked me to confirm that the extension had been built where there had previously been a garage, to which i said it had.

We heard nothing back, but I didn't expect too, as all along we'd been told it fell under permitted planning.

Fast forward 17 months and we get another letter from council requesting a site visit, as once again a neighbour has complained that we don't have permission. We explained to the council that we'd submit everything to them 17 months ago, and could they liase with our architect as he drew the plans and raised the paperwork to the council.

On involving our architect, he now tells us that he should have applied for planning permission as the roof height has exceeded permitted development height !!

The architect is no longer working for the company, and the company has been dissolved. The architect does now have his own business though.

So, is the architect at fault and should he be held responsible?

Is the council also at fault, as surely when they requested to see the plans back in 2016, they should have advised us then that we needed planning permission?

I'm just at a loss as we used a company for the build to ensure all procedures were followed. Anyone got any advice for us? Many thanks in advance.

pinklady21

It seems you have two problems:
1. Not having planning permission for the now built extension
2. The poor advice you relied on at the time.

For point 1:What is the Council suggesting you do next? Have they asked you to apply for retrospective planning permission?


for point 2: what did the contract say about applying for all permissions that would be required?

It may be that the Architect had professional indemnity insurance that would cover the costs to put this right - whether you or he can now make a claim, I do not know.

Did you ask him why he misinformed you?

I have also previously applied for PP for a single storey extension to a bungalow. I read the rules on PD rights, and spoke to various planners to ask exactly the same question, in particular about the overall height and whether it would need a full planning application. I got different answers, and my architect's advice was to put in a full application anyway, and the Council Planning dept would be able to tell me very quickly whether it was indeed PD. It would probably be a quicker turnaround than asking them formally whether it is PD or not.
In the end, his advice was spot on - our cheque was returned with a letter from the Council a couple of days after we put in the application telling us it was not needed as the plan fell under PD rules.

Sorry - does not help you much now, but as we had to pay the architect for plans anyway for the Building Warrant, it was a simple matter to get him to submit the full plan for a planning app.
I hope this all works out for you.Best of luck

Doozergirl

Another post that should be in the In My Home board.

Just because it doesn’t fall under Permitted Development rights, it doesn’t mean that Planning Permission would be refused, especially if the infringement is minor.

Presumably you have the plans for the extension? Presumably the planning officer is asking you now to submit for retrospective planning permission?

The cost at the moment is just the application fee for the extension which you should have paid anyway.

If it is refused, only then is the time you’d have to start wondering about who pays for repairs. I say deal with one thing at a time as a single storey extension to a bungalow is not actually going to affect any neighbour’s amenity or privacy. If you are polite with th planning officers, they may treat you with a little extra kindness, if necessary.

Derekgoodwin

Thanks for the replies. We're just fed up as the hole point of using this company was so silly errors wouldn't be made, and this seems like a huge error.

I don't quite get why the council never got back to us in 2016 when they asked to see the plans.


Sorry if I posted on writing page, it's my first time on here.

Thanks again for the input.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Has the building been built to the specification in the plans, if so the architect should have known that planning permission was required.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Even if they though it was not required, since it is on the boundary of requiring permission they should have applied for a lawful development certificate just to be sure.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The council probably publish supplementary planning guidance notes setting out what they will typically allow planning permission for. It would be a good idea to look at these to see if your development is likely to be approved.[/FONT]