Help with extension planning please

Litha

Hello everyone,
long-time lurker here ( I've not even logged in recently) looking for some advice regards planning and getting the best out of a single storey rear extension.
We have been going round in circles for the last several years, 'move or improve' and had actually decided to move, but we wanted to stay local and all the houses are similar to what we already have.
Following a couple of frustrating years searching, we have come to the conclusion that we are not going to find what we are looking for locally. 
We have made the decision to stay and extend / improve the property but are overwhelmed by the task.
We are in a semi detached house built in 1930. It has solid walls and lath and plaster ceilings and has a tendency to chilliness. It has plenty of garden ground, with a large SE facing garden at the back ( it's a sort of pie wedge shaped plot) The house type is very common in Scotland and we are only the 3rd family to live here since it was brand new.
I should have loads of ideas, but my mind has gone blank. A huge problem with this house is that it doesn't have a proper hall, so the rooms downstairs lead off one another.
I saw a very helpful post by Doozergirl saying you should plan from the inside out, but I simply cannot get my head around it. Any help would be much appreciated, all I have at the moment is that I want a downstairs shower room, a utility room with enough space for my beloved Lakeland Heated Airer and a bright airy kitchen diner. I don't want open plan, but neither do I want a warren of small rooms.
Sorry for the long post. I've attached a few pictures of my attempts at planning so far and the back garden ( it's 84 feet long)
Linda

Doozergirl

It's not a wide house.  ,
Continue the party wall - you're already attached to next door!   Don't waste space creating a massive gap for no reason.  

Would you consider creating a hallway again?  It would probably make sense in an extended house.   You can have doors off into the WC and perhaps the utility too, although accessing the utility from the new kitchen via the existing window opening would probably be more intuitive.    

Your current kitchen could be potentially split into shower room and utility.  

The way to accommodate a shower room in the smallest space is to use a space of around 1m x 2.4m and have the door in the middle of the long wall.  Toilet to one side, shower to the other, short projection sink in front of the door.   Avoid putting a door on the short wall.     It's quite hard to make the best use of space in a narrow house.  You start carving things up and it loses its proportions.  

Litha

Thank you Doozergirl.
I would prefer to build up to the boundary line, because as you say, it is a narrow house. I've struggled to get anyone out to have a look, but the first builder to come out said it couldn't be done unless we knock down next doors coal cellar.
The previous owners would never have entertained that, however, it has recently been sold (probate) after being tenanted for a while. I don't know what the new owners will be like.
Sadly, our local council isn't very flexible regards domestic planning and have been unhelpful in the past.
I am also losing my workspace by doing this renovation and cannot find a place to fit it in (art studio) so plan on getting something at the back of the garden.
The extension will be approximately 4m x 5m. I don't know if it's worth pushing out a little further, budget will obviously be a factor. I am currently budgeting around £2 -2.5k per square metre.
I should be able to do this but feel I'm falling at the first hurdle. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Linda

macman

'Pushing out further'? I note that you are in Scotland, so is not the maximum you can build out to under PD rights still 3m on a terraced house rear extension (it was doubled in England). You are currently working to 4m?
Might be best to establish what the maximum you can build out to is before you start planning the detail. Your LA will be bound by the existing standards currently in force.

edgex

Is what's labelled as garage yours? If so, could you extend sideways?
Could you provide an overall view of the plot (lines on a satellite view screenshot will do)
Is it the rear of the house that faces South-East, so the front faces North-West?

Litha

Good afternoon,
thank you for the continuing help and comments.
@macman Re PD rights, we are semi-detached so can extend by up to 4m but as I have other work to consider, I will probably go for planning permission anyway, so would possibly extend out another metre if feasible. 
@edgex The garage is ours and I have considered a 2 storey side extension, but a) budget might quite not stretch to that and b) once our youngest leave home, we don't want to be kicking about in a house that is too big for us.
Saying that, I could revisit the idea.
I've been thinking about it for so long that now the decision has been made, I can't see the wood for the trees.
I've attached a pic of the plot, the front is north west. The gable end is where it is most exposed to the wind and rain.

edgex

Wouldn't have to be a 2storey extension, you could build the foundations & wall suitable for a 2storey, & just put the roof on at first floor level. Basically mirror what's already the other side of the stairs.
You would then put the kitchen at the front, with the diner part behind it facing the garden.

Or, put a room at the front, with the utility & shower room in line with the stairs, & the kitchen behind that, which then opens into the current kitchen which becomes the diner part. Put the access under the stairs.

Is there a reason for a downstairs shower room?

Litha

Thanks for your continued input.
There is only one bathroom in the house and it just doesn't meet the needs of a house full of young adults & teenagers. An additional wc and shower will definitely take the pressure off.
We are also taking future proofing into consideration When my lovely mum was ill, she wasn't able to go back to her own house (upstairs bathroom) as she couldn't manage the stairs.
Your ideas are all good. I really appreciate you taking the time to help
Linda

edgex

Right. So if you put the shower room/bathroom & utility in the middle, with the bathroom accessed via the utility, but with the ability to put a doorway in from the new front room, that would future-proof it.

Doozergirl

I agree that a side extension would make sense, widening a narrow house.  

Extending at the side will also make the house look more expensive from the front, plus you have a natural turn to the right there at the front door already. 

Knocking through from the existing dining room to the kitchen might give you that kitchen diner space with bigger doors.   

How far to the side could you actually go?    I find it so hard to work from hand drawn floorplans.    Rightmove's floorplan history is a godsend.  

 

Litha

Thank you @Doozergirl
The property has a wide frontage beside the pavement, but then narrows considerably .
The council do not allow you to extend forward of the property line ( and prefer any extension to be at least a metre behind the line) there must also be adequate access to the rear of the property. Taking that into consideration, we could only extend sideways by a maximum of 3.048m / 10 feet.
I've been round and round in circles trying to make it work, no wonder I wanted to move!
Linda
More pics


this is what was on the estate agent brochure - is this what you mean?