Building notice

Louis_16v

I purchased a house last year that has a single storey rear extension built around 2002.
It was always our intention to build on top of the existing extension in the future to gain an extra bedroom.

Next summer we'll likely have the funds available to do it but look to have hit a bit of a snag.
Looking through the search documents I can see that planning permission was granted and the work was done on a building notice.
The decision of this is down as 'unconfirmed'.
This wasn't flagged at all as an issue by the conveyancer. I have emailed them to query it but nothing back yet.

I was naively hoping that I'd be able to log onto the planning portal and download the previous drawings to determine if the foundation spec is suitable to take another storey but having spoken to the local planning department, they have no record of the extension at all.
I have no issues with the structural integrity of the existing extension but need to know the best course of action to move forward.
I assume trial pits will need to be dug to confirm the foundation spec?
Any help would be appreciated.

Doozergirl

Trial pits, yes. 

Not the most complicated or expensive process.  

DevilDamo

The Planning Portal never has records of any Planning or Building Regulation applications as that will be on your Local Authority website.

You mentioned Planning was granted for the extension but they have no records of it? Or did you mean Building Control don’t have any records even though you mentioned it was dealt with via a Building Notice?

Planning will never have details of the existing foundations. That’s Building Control. Even if they did, they’d still ask for the existing foundations to be exposed as the extension was done so long ago. It’s a little different where extensions have been completed within the last few years. But each Building Control department/company can be different as to their inspection and approval process.

EssexExile

As Doozergirl says trial pits are easy and quick to dig. If you do need underpinning it's not the end of the world.

Louis_16v

Thanks all for the replies.

It was my local authority website that I checked not the planning portal I was mistaken.

I have confirmation from the conveyancers searches that planning permission was granted, what's confusing me is that the section where it states about building notice, the decision is 'unconfirmed'.
It's concerning me that it may have never actually been signed off....
I've emailed the original solicitors for clarification but they are typically slow in coming back.

Looks like a trial pit will be needed regardless so I'll make some enquiries into this.