Utility to Kitchen?

Section62

Doozergirl said:

You don't really need the original paperwork though. It just needs to have had the permission, which is visible in the searches.   Even then, unless the house is listed, the development becomes lawful after 4 years so there's still no need for an indemnity policy.

I agree. Except in the case were an overzealous solicitor thinks there is something wrong with the planning consent due to the paperwork being missing and insists the lender won't proceed without an indemnity policy.  If that's what has happened here then it is understandable that the OP has taken the easier route of paying for the indemnity policy.  Contacting the council to get a copy of the consent to prove to the solicitor that everything was in order would be a gamble.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think the OP needed an indemnity policy, but now they have one they need to be careful not to invalidate it until after the point where the solicitor/lender could cause problems.  There's no point saying "But there isn't a problem" to a stubborn solicitor who thinks there is.

Doozergirl said:

I missed the proposed garage conversion initially, you missed that the extensions were built in 1990, not the house.  When was the house built, OP?

What I read and replied on the basis of is the 1990 applications were for extensions which included a (retained?) car parking space.

Because minimum parking standards were being strictly applied in 1990, I think there's a good chance a condition was imposed so the space had to be retained for parking - the LPA also wouldn't want to be in a position where the applicant asked to extend the garage for parking, then immediately turned that space into living accommodation, thereby gaining a much large living-space extension than they were applying for.

The date the house was built would be useful to know, but a condition in relation to minimum parking provision could be applied at any time that further consent is granted.  The LPA isn't constrained to apply such a restriction only at the time the property is first built.

Section62

diystarter7 said:

Do contact the council, they may have some records inc build reg etc. However, from mem, most depts dont hold records for more than 15/20 years

OP, you should ignore that bad advice if either your solicitor or lender required you to take out the indemnity policy and you have not yet completed.

If they become aware that you contacted the council and in so doing invalidated the indemnity policy it could have serious financial consequences for you.

If knowing whether you can do the alterations affects your decision to proceed with the purchase then you need to discuss this with your solicitor first.

Doozergirl

diystarter7 said:

Hi OP

Do contact the council, they may have some records inc build reg etc. However, from mem, most depts dont hold records for more than 15/20 years

Thanks

There's no doubt you're well meaning but you're also a bit of a liability with your advice.  None of this reply is correct.  

The OP still hasn't replied about whether it may have been a BR issue but 
a) they don't any building regulations info in the first place.  Nothing from 1990 is relevant now.  
b) They will invalidate any building control indemnity policy if they contact them. 
c) Records usually do go back a lot longer.  I've only ever needed to do that once to prove that a build started to prove that planning for a dwelling was extant.  
d) I'm not sure the OP owns the house yet so they're not even entitled to view any records held by Building Control.   They are not public domain.  

diystarter7

Doozergirl said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi OP

Do contact the council, they may have some records inc build reg etc. However, from mem, most depts dont hold records for more than 15/20 years

Thanks

There's no doubt you're well meaning but you're also a bit of a liability with your advice.  None of this reply is correct.  

The OP still hasn't replied about whether it may have been a BR issue but 
a) they don't any building regulations info in the first place.  Nothing from 1990 is relevant now.  
b) They will invalidate any building control indemnity policy if they contact them. 
c) Records usually do go back a lot longer.  I've only ever needed to do that once to prove that a build started to prove that planning for a dwelling was extant.  
d) I'm not sure the OP owns the house yet so they're not even entitled to view any records held by Building Control.   They are not public domain.  

Hi
Many thanks.Puka advice, I'll delete my post.
Thanks again, appreciated.

Thanks

Doozergirl

Bless you.   I think the OP has gone now anyway.  

GrSunshine

Doozergirl said:

Bless you.   I think the OP has gone now anyway.  

Section62 said:

Doozergirl said:

We do have the planning

I think you need to re-read the post.  They have PP, it sounds like their solicitor was wrong to want an indemnity policy. 

Changes to the garage might need PP but they can talk directly to the planning office about that because the planning issue is a red herring! 

The way I read it, planning consent was given for something, but the detail of exactly what is uncertain due to the lack of paperwork.  Hence the indemnity policy in case what was built isn't as per the consent. Not necessarily a sensible approach, but solicitors....

The garage is proposed to be converted, and that may need consent if a previous consent had conditions requiring it to be used for parking.

I agree the only way out of this is to talk to planning.  There's a theoretical possibility something hasn't been built in accordance with planning consent but the risk of enforcement action has to be low, unless part of the building work is a lot more recent than believed.

Hi I am presuming OP means original poster. I have posted an update on my original post as I didn't know how to reply to everyone at once. Thanks for all replies and I have took a few pointers on board. Think everyone is a little more technical that I am so will just check with a local builder first and go from there. Thanks again everyone x

Doozergirl

If there's something you don't understand, then it's okay ask it here even whilst the rest of us thrash it out.  We can attempt to deal with one thing at a time.  

Builders aren't always qualified to know and we're missing a bit of detail from you to be able to give you a definitive answer on what the best thing is to do.  I've already had an interesting conversation with a builder today who didn't have a clue what they were talking about but had advised a potential customer.  

Do you know the difference between the building regulations and planning permission?    If you look at your correspondence with the solicitor, I think we might find the answer to exactly what is missing (if it is missing at all).  So it could the Planning Permission Decision Notice or it could be the completion certificate for Building Regulations Approval. 

They're two different departments at the council and they both deal with development, but different aspects.  You need to satisfy both when building and the solicitor will
have asked the vendors for both.  

diystarter7

Doozergirl said:

Bless you.   I think the OP has gone now anyway.  

Thanks for your blessing, appreciated. Bless you too and have a great weekend

Section62

GrSunshine said:

*Addition* Thanks for all replies which were helpful but I  think I will just contact planning.  - sorry I don't know how to just do a reply so opted for this Addition.
To answer a few questions
The 'wall' between Kitchen and Dining Rooms is really only a partition wall and isn't structural
Regarding Indemnity, i'm not really bothered about that. It didn't cost much and I don't need it for mortgage reasons. As is said Solicitors......
House was built roughly early 1960's and link for previous planning and work from 1990 etc is here   

Solicitor had no luck in getting further paperwork from the planning dept.
There is already a sink in the Utility so water etc is already 'on tap' and there are lots of electric sockets along with a radiator.
I think my biggest concert is changing the door to a window.
Thanks again, I really do appreciate all replies but would ask that people remember we are not all abbreviation savvy and so I didn't understand them all :-)

You should probably delete the link as it identifies the property.

Partition walls can be structural - you need professional advice to confirm it isn't structural.

If you didn't need the indemnity policy for mortgage reasons then why did your solicitor insist on you having it?

Although your neighbour has converted their garage, it looks like your driveway is borderline for whether it is long enough to park a car on without obstructing the footway.  If you do need planning consent to convert the garage I'm not wholly confident you'd get it.  The neighbour's consent is over 20 years old and things have moved on since then.

Did your surveyor pick up on the area of brickwork which has been replaced above the porch?  Did you get a satisfactory explanation for it? Did they comment on the way the porch ridge tiles and flashing have been done? (Edit: Originally the central portion of this area appears to have been either stone or timber cladding, but the replacement brickwork is quite a bit wider than that)

And as Doozergirl says, asking a builder for planning advice generally isn't a good idea.  There are only a relative few like her good self who know what they are talking about, there are many more who don't have a clue and make it up as they go.