From April 16th 2008 there will be an increase to the amount thats paid to the local council for permission to extend your property.

For a Planning Application it will increase from £135 to £150 (inc Vat)

And for a COL (certificate of Lawfulness) it will increase from £67.50 to £75.

I think this is outrageous, the councils are under so much pressure with the volume of applications that are being submitted that instead of focusing on a quicker turnaround for each application, they are trying to cash in on the demand of housing development.

The increased fees will have no effect on the councils will to speed up the process and will just frustrate the general public even more when dealing with there local borough.

I know this is completely out the blue but i’m really into the idea of keeping chickens at the moment…

I’m thinking of buying a Hen Home for the garden and keeping my own.

I want fresh eggs and look forward to sharing them with my friends and family.

A Ridiculous mistake from Wandsworth Borough council in London.

A senior council officer who worked as an Architect in the sort after area of Wandsworth, used to check planning applications for the local people and on his opinion decided weather or not he would approve applications for lofts, extensions and basements.

It was complete humiliation for Wandsworth when they found out he used to dress as a tramp at the weekends, beg for money and assault schoolgirls!!!

Friends at the office regarded him as a kind, caring and decent gentleman… someone who could be trusted!!!

He has now been arrested and faces 13 years in prison….

Please click here to read the full story from the Daily Mail.

Things to look for if your house or flat is in a city. The following problems could be missed by your builder or local company and could have unforeseen problems which will cost you extra money that you might not be aware of until its too late.

The problems are as follows:

If there is only one point of access into the flat. There may only be access through the front door. If there is no rear access to the property all the materials may have to go through the communal area or through the house. This could be at an extra cost as it will take longer. Plus no builder really wants to do this. As well as having to carry the materials up the 2/3 flights of stairs the team will have to go through tight turning corridors which is often very difficult.

If your house or flat is on a double yellow line or on a red route. It then might have a restriction like a certain day when the crane company can operate so it doesn’t restrict the flow of traffic. If its a Saturday or Sunday, the crane company could charge you or your company extra for a weekend slot and this cost is normally absorbed by the customer even though they may not know it at the start.

If there is a bus shelter and/or bus stop outside the property. This will cause similar problems to the point above but also you may not ever be able to use a crane for the build. This decision is made by the local council subject to health and safety to the general public. If you cant use a crane you/your company may have to use an electronic wench which is attached to the side of the scaffolding. It roughly costs the same amount as a crane but it takes alot longer to lift everything up onto the scaffolding and into the roof. Health and safety issues are also present with regards to storing materials on the front scaffold and working off it with such a busy street. One situation I’ve been in before is that there was a bus stop and shelter that where always in constant use, even on a Sunday the buses were running from 6am until midnight every 3 minutes… This is a major problem for a building company, the council and for your road. Also if the road is very slim it can cause issues for the crane delivering materials.

If your house is on or below a parade of shops there is also a major issues with the scaffolding. It will have to be netted, possibly have a scaffolding alarm fitted and be specially designed so the general public can safely walk underneath the building area. Costs are around £1000 on top of the quoted scaffolding cost.

Most of the points above will all need a scaffolding license as the health and safety implications are massive. There is also nowhere for the skip to go at the front of the property. If there is a side road you can apply for a permit form the council but if there are yellow lines on the side road there will be costs attached, approx £200+ a week which again will probably be missed but then get absorbed by the customer…

If there are no parking bays that can be suspended for the trades to park, the tickets will cost around £1 to £2 per hour in most cities. Trade permits can be available in some areas and are alot cheaper but will need to be arranged with the local council by the home owner.

At last, the planners are beginning to understand the demand for loft conversions.

I found this on the web and found it interesting,

Its from the Daily Mail

Click here

Good news in from the ‘loft group’ at the FMB, They have started to discuss the new changes that may come into effect this year. It will happen either at the end of April 2008 or at the end of November 2008. I know theres a bit of difference in the times but for all those people holding on for the new changes it should be well worth the wait.

At the moment every house has a certain allowance that it can be extended, for a mid terrace the allowance is 50 meters cubed and out of that 50 only 40 meters cubed can be used in the loft. For a Detached and Semi Detached house the allowance is 70 meters cubed and out of that 70 only 50 meters cubed can be used for the loft.

So if a mid terraced house (50m3) had a ground floor extension that had already used 40 meters cubed, there is only 10 meters cubed remaining which wouldn’t be enough to do a dormer under Permitted Development (PD). This means you would have to do the loft conversion under a Planning Application. This may cause problems like restrictions and guidelines that you have to follow in certain boroughs. A can of worms some might say…

Not any more!!!

The biggest change that is pending with the government is the allowance (PD) to be separated from loft conversions and other extensions that may exsist.

This means that if your house already has a side or rear extension you can still apply for a loft under PD. (40m3 for a mid terrace and 59m3 for a Detached or Semi)

This is also going to help houses that need hip to gables.

At the moment 90% of the councils around the country will never allow Hip to gables under Planning Permission. The only type of conversion you can do to a hip to gable is a side dormer. Side dormers cost the same as a hip to gable but only give you a third of the space. A lot of people have put off converting there lofts because of this and if they change the law i think the councils around the country will soon be inundated with the thousands of home owners ready to convert there lofts.

The FMB really need to push the government to decide on a fixed date for these changes. When the decisions made the local councils will need to start passing the extra applications before the chosen date otherwise they will just be in the same situation there in now… To many people wanting to convert there homes, to many applications for the council to cope with and a 56 day waiting list applications to be granted…

There is a small chance that this new law may not come out at all but the chances are very slim.

Unfortunately the new law will not apply to purpose built flats or converted flats, Conservation areas or second grade listed buildings. Sorry.

An Isolator Switch is a switch normally found above the bathroom door. Its only purpose is to let the owner decide if they want the extractor fan to come on or not when they switch the light on in the bathroom.

The extractor fan has to be installed in any new bathroom, Shower Room or W.C in any residential dwelling under the new building regulations so its not just for lofts its now for the whole house.

Well the time has come…!

I’m ready to live through my very own loft conversion…!!!
The third week of jan 2008 ill be having my very own loft built.
Ive been selling them for over 5 years now and seen many different shapes and sizes, but now i can experience first hand just what its like to live through one. I will keep a log of all the pit falls and the best times to get away. So if you are thinking of having one done you will know when to book that holiday and not considering a divorce towards the end of your loft experience…
(Thats not a joke!!! Ive know this happen in the past and its not good)

Ill also let you know when its the best time to be at home to make all the important decisions like where the lights and powerpoints are going while maybe your loved ones simply stay and your friends of families house out of the mess….!

Keep in touch and ill take pictures allong the way so you can see just what you will be letting yourself in for.

On a good note……………..

I CANT WAIT!

When buying your own French doors, they can be brought from most door and window companies and are normally specified as internal French doors for loft conversions. The difference is that they open inwards allowing you to use them. Standard sizes the French door’s come in are 1200w X 2100h or 1500w X2100h. you can also get French door’s that have side panels and their 2400w X 2100h but i’m sure you can get made to measure French door’s that suit everyones needs. The balconies can be built by Iron / steel mongers and cost about £600 roughly for a standard 1200 wide with flush spindals. You can pay a few hundred pounds extra and get twisted spindals which look quite alot nicer or even go for reinforced glass but this option could cost you around £200 a squared foot so be ready when you receive a quote.

Vat on Building work including lofts is to expensive and needs to be cut. By doing this millions of home owners will be able to stay where they are and extend their property. The FMB have put a petition together to try and crack down on cowboy builders on all trades to stop the gangsters doing cash deals with customers and then leaving them half way through a job without finishing it at the agreed the price, walking off the job and having no come back on themselves in court as the customer has avoided the VAT….

The FMB our are focused on lowering the 17.5% vat bracket down to just 5% which sounds like a good saving but with the cost of raw materials going up by upto 40% because of the works being done over the far east, building costs in this country are just spiraling out of control.

Get behind the Petition and go to cutthevat.co.uk for more details