Changing bungalow to house

homechangehelp

I was hoping for some advice.

We'd like to change a 2-bed detached bungalow into a 2-storey 4 bed house. The economics of the project work out, so it is a worthwhile financial option.

The issues only relate to planning - the council are not keen to allow owners to convert bungalows into houses as they consider that it is removing potential properties from older people who cannot climb stairs.

We intend to make this our forever home and my partner's mum may move into our proposed house when she is unable to live on her own/does not want to live on her own.

Does anyone know whether the council takes into consideration our long term plans. We are content to make the property accessible for the older generation as it is likely that we will have one living with us!

Is there anything that anyone knows of that may persuade the council to allow us to extend upwards?

Thanks in advance

PasturesNew

You could die the day after you build it.
The bungalow is removed from the market forever.

lincroft1710

Your long term plans will not be considered by the council in this case. The council policy is clear, they want single storey dwellings to remain as such.

Work this one through a little further. If you converted the bungalow into a house, then when you die, there would be another vacant 4 bed house rather than a 2 bed bungalow.

There are plenty of 4 bed houses around, buy one rather than deprive the market of a vanishing asset

Sea_Shell

No end of bungalows near us have been lost forever to development into houses, and the new price tag that goes with them!!

Smaller, single floor dwellings are becoming rarer and rarer. Sad.

Waterlily24

The only way we could get the room we wanted was by making our bungalow into a chalet bungalow as the planners wouldn't let us increase the footprint by more than a third. It was a lot of work because the old roof wouldn't have been big enough or high enough for any rooms. We were just left with the walls. The council moaned about the height of the roof even though the properties nearest to us are houses. We live in a rural area with no close neighbours.


We come under 'countryside' and the rules are a bit stricter.


We have a lovely house now but it is not what we wanted.

G_M

Waterlily24 wrote: »

The only way we could get the room we wanted was by making our bungalow into a chalet bungalow as the planners wouldn't let us increase the footprint by more than a third...... d.

or by buying a suitable 4 bed house.....


But as others have said, the answe o our Q is, no, they will not take into account that his would be your 'forever' home, because in reality you will not live there 'forever' whereas the bungalow will, forever, be a 2 story house.

Owain_Moneysaver

homechangehelp wrote: »

The issues only relate to planning - the council are not keen to allow owners to convert bungalows into houses as they consider that it is removing potential properties from older people who cannot climb stairs.

Your local council may have a planning policy for accessible housing. This would be aimed at new-build houses, and it may help your application if you can comply with this, so your property is demonstrably no worse than new-build houses and in fact adds to the accessible housing stock. Eg, it may help if you retain a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, and if you can locate cupboard space on ground and first floor landings that can be easily converted to a lift shaft. (You do not have to install a lift.)

Part M of the Building Regulations requires that all new dwellings to which Part M of the Building Regulations applies should be designed to a minimum of M4(1) ‘visitable dwellings’, and that local authorities can opt into, or ‘switch on’, requirements for M4(2) and M4(3) via Local Plan policy.

The NPPF requires that plans should be deliverable and relevant to local economic and market conditions. To opt into M4(2) and M4(3), each authority must gather evidence of need and ensure that any proposed policy requirements are put through cumulative viability testing, taking into account all other Local Plan policy requirements on development viability in the area. The resultant draft planning policy requirements are then to go through an Examination in Public (EiP) to ensure they are deemed to be ‘sound’ before being adopted in to the Local Plan.

Furthermore, M4(3) ‘wheelchair user accessible dwellings’ will usually only apply to social and affordable housing, as planning practice guidance states that the higher wheelchair user standard should generally only be required by a local authority where the end user is known.

https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/accessible-housing-in-england

Where a local planning authority adopts a policy to provide enhanced accessibility or adaptability they should do so only by reference to Requirement M4(2) and/or M4(3) of the optional requirements in the Building Regulations and should not impose any additional information requirements (for instance provision of furnished layouts) or seek to determine compliance with these requirements, which is the role of the Building Control Body.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/housing-optional-technical-standards


All the above mentioned policy and research documents will be available to you under Freedom of Information from the planning authority.

Waterlily24

G_M wrote: »

or by buying a suitable 4 bed house.....


But as others have said, the answe o our Q is, no, they will not take into account that his would be your 'forever' home, because in reality you will not live there 'forever' whereas the bungalow will, forever, be a 2 story house.

We bought it because of the garden and because it was rural and no near neighbours - quite hard to find places like that especially a 4 bedroomed bungalow.


We are lucky because we don't have to go upstairs at all apart from cleaning. The upstairs is only used when we have visitors.

teddysmum

The buyers of a detached bungalow, on our estate, obtained permission to convert to a house. This is very surprising as the estate has blocks of houses or bungalows and the house looks really out of place besides looking rather odd design-wise .


All other extended bungalows have just been given a pair of dormer windowed rooms , but someone with a detached bungalow, the same as the converted one ( also in the same street ), was told that dormers were the only option.

Alan2020

Depending on the ridge height of the roof just convert the loft with dormers under permitted development, also add a rear extension longer one under permitted development, add side extensions to both sides, and outbuildings under permitted development.

You can develop it and the planners and neighbours will be fine. Actually add side windows as well to annoy the neighbours. Lots of roof lights and upstairs expose the roof with velux roof lights so you have a cathedral effect

Waterlily24

We also weren't allowed dormers had to be Velux type windows.