Solicitor cannot obtain old Planning Permission - what to do?

anselld

jumperabv3 said:

anselld said:

There is no onus on the seller to provide this.  

Okay, fine, can I ask please would you join those who say just ignore it because it's nothing major?

Yes I would, unless I had plans for something out of the ordinary or beyond the current use which might be affected by ongoing conditions, eg garage conversion, caravan, commercial vehicle etc.  Even so low risk as these would normally be covered in the deeds.

No harm in asking the vendor if they would mind going to the Council or do so when you get back from overseas.  You will struggle to get to exchange of contracts without returning at some point anyway.

davidmcn

jumperabv3 said:

davidmcn said:

jumperabv3 said:

Slinky said:

Is this anindividually built property or part of a larger estate built at the same time? Are there records for the planning permission for the street where your house is built but not specific permission for 12 Any Street

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand your question, can you elaborate please?

Was the house built on its own or as part of a larger development? If the latter then you're unlikely to find a planning permission indexed under "21 Acacia Avenue" (or whatever), it will usually be one consent for the whole of "Oaktree Meadows Estate".

Yes, it is part of a larger development - I cannot find it online, I looked it for based on postcode, do you have another suggestion?

Postcode won't work for the same reason - new addresses and postcodes are allocated once the houses are built. You'll probably be looking for something vague like "land to North of London Road".

Many councils' websites have map-based searching which might help. 

jumperabv3

anselld said:

No harm in asking the vendor if they would mind going to the Council or do so when you get back from overseas.  You will struggle to get to exchange of contracts without returning at some point anyway.

Thanks for the answers. The last bit is incorrect, you can exchange remotely - I did sign docs for this when I was in the solicitor's office.

jumperabv3

davidmcn said:

Postcode won't work for the same reason - new addresses and postcodes are allocated once the houses are built. You'll probably be looking for something vague like "land to North of London Road".

Many councils' websites have map-based searching which might help. 

Thanks so much David, this was very helpful! I think I found it then - this should be this one:
http://documents.reading.gov.uk/AnitePublicDocs/00400630.pdf
It makes sense this document is related to addresses at XXX Rowe Ct, Grovelands Road, Reading, RG30 2HZ - correct?
Do you see anything interesting in this document that I should be aware of?

eddddy

jumperabv3 said:

Do you see anything interesting in this document that I should be aware of?

It looks like condition 13 removes permitted development rights.

So home owners would normally be allowed to do some types of development without planning consent.  See this doc for details:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830643/190910_Tech_Guide_for_publishing.pdf

But because your permitted development right s have been removed, you would have to apply for planning consent (which may or may not be granted).

So maybe you should also check that the current owners haven't done anything in the last 4 years in the mistaken belief that they had permitted development rights.

(Others have suggested that removal of permitted development rights would be stated in the deeds - I think they're confusing them with covenants, which are different.)

jimbo6977

So half a dozen people on a forum can find this document, but the solicitors were seemingly unable.🤔

jumperabv3

jimbo6977 said:

So half a dozen people on a forum can find this document, but the solicitors were seemingly unable.🤔

Haha ... crazy stuff, isn't it?