Planning permission refused- selling

James1968

Surely a re-roof would not require planning permission as it is classed as a structural repair.
Anyway, 4 years and a day have passed, so the LA cannot take action as they have timed out.

agrinnall

James1968 wrote: »

Surely a re-roof would not require planning permission as it is classed as a structural repair.

I agree with this. OP, are you sure that the PP was refused and not just rejected as unecessary?

davidmcn

James1968 wrote: »

Surely a re-roof would not require planning permission as it is classed as a structural repair.
Anyway, 4 years and a day have passed, so the LA cannot take action as they have timed out.

agrinnall wrote: »

I agree with this. OP, are you sure that the PP was refused and not just rejected as unecessary?

The OP described it as "re-roof and thermal insulation upgrade" - I am guessing the thermal insulation is cladding to the walls, which probably would trigger a need for planning.

Section106

davidmcn wrote: »

The OP described it as "re-roof and thermal insulation upgrade" - I am guessing the thermal insulation is cladding to the walls, which probably would trigger a need for planning.

Agreed, it sounds likely the thermal insulation has been applied on the outside and that was sufficient to require planning consent. It could also be that the roof level has been increased to incorporate insulation without having an impact on the rooms below. That could be necessary if the roof was monopitch or if the eaves level is lower than ceiling level in the upstairs rooms (sloping ceilings).

James1968 wrote: »

Anyway, 4 years and a day have passed, so the LA cannot take action as they have timed out.

It shouldn't be something the OP really concerns themselves with, but bear in mind the 4 year limit only applies if the LA haven't already commenced enforcement action. If the enforcement action hasn't been taken against you, then you might not be aware of it.

squirrelpie

I have checked the online portal for more info and all it says is refused unfortunately. Further information is only available going back to May 2018. Anything older simply says Approved/Denied.

That's a very late date for information to be available online But it is what it is.


You should still be able to access the information by going to the council offices in person and asking to see it. It's probably wise to phone in advance as you might need an appointment.

patman99

Best thing to do is contact the LA and ask if any enforcement action was started within 4 years fom the date the work was started.


If not, you are ok. If they hve, ak what the outcome was.

Section106

patman99 wrote: »

Best thing to do is contact the LA and ask if any enforcement action was started within 4 years fom the date the work was started.

If not, you are ok. If they hve, ak what the outcome was.

In this case, if the OP can get away with just paying £40 for an indemnity policy and everyone else will be satisfied then it is probably best to say no more about it.

Contacting the LA might awaken sleeping dogs, and render a very cheap solution unavailable to the OP.

plehelp

Sorry for the lack of reply, I had a couple of weddings this weekend so i'm just catching up now.

I spoke directly with our solicitors assistant for an update on Friday. She said the reason PP was denied was because the council never booked an inspection of the roof work so it was never signed off by building regs (or something to that effect) They said that there are potentially 2 options, depending on what the council say when they get back to them.

1. They sign off the work on the basis that they completed the work themselves and therefore it should comply with building regs.
2. They insist on carrying out an inspection before signing off the work.
(Any idea on how this would work, given that the loft has since been fully boarded out and carpeted? It was re-roofed almost 10 years ago. Is an inspection likely to require the boarding be removed, or would it be external only? Also...cost on a building regs inspection, any ideas?)

No work was done to the outside of the property though, just the roof with the old grey fluffy insulation that was up there replaced for new. They did the same work at several other council owned properties along the road at the same time apparently but I cannot find any other planning applications on the portal for around the same time.

I have heard of the 4 years thing and did wonder whether planning was actually needed, so this is something i'll raise with our solicitor tomorrow as if their assistant has been dealing with it, they may not have this knowledge?

At this stage it seems the buyers solicitor wants some resolution via the council and aren't just happy with an indemnity policy, so we shall cross our fingers and hope this isn't buyer number 4 who doesn't complete.

Thanks for all comments and shared knowledge so far, it's appreciated.

plehelp

I can't attach a screenshot of the actual document sent by solicitors, but wording is as follows If it helps:

1.1 (j) Building regulations approval

Reference: Edited out

Application type: Regularisation Application
Address: Edited out
Submitted date: 27/01/2010
Decision Date: 01/06/2010

Proposal: Retrospective application in respect of re-roof and upgrade of thermal insulation Refused 01-Jun-2010


I note it says regularisation application, but has always been referred to as PP by solicitors and sales negotiator. Not sure if that makes a difference.

davidmcn

plehelp wrote: »

I note it says regularisation application, but has always been referred to as PP by solicitors and sales negotiator. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Yes, it's nothing to do with planning. It's building regulations. Not exactly reassuring if your solicitor doesn't understand the difference. Having said that, much of the above advice still stands.