Brownfield site given approval
This unique brownfield site, which was an empty plot used for parking, measures only 13m x 3.2m.
Plans by Adam Knibb Architects submitted for a three-storey home and office have been granted permission, and work is now due to start on site later this year.
To ensure the planning process was as smooth as possible, the architects went through a thorough pre-application process. One covenant that has been put in place is for through-access to a neighbouring outbuilding to be retained. To do this, the first and second floors will be elevated on stilts to retain an open void at ground floor level.
A mixture of dark textured metal cladding and a translucent skin made from polycarbonate have been proposed as the primary external cladding materials to provide depth to the massing and create a sense of light transparency at higher levels so as not to dominate the skyline. capable of development for housing in 2020; only a change in government policy was needed. Local councils, arguably, dislike developments like these because they continually render their plans out of date and make their anti-development policies harder to enforce. Small builders and self-builders love planning policy changes because they often create new opportunities to build homes.
Think laterally
With the above in mind, it’s a good idea to keep an open mind about potential development sites and look beyond current policy limitations. Some of the most surprising successes I have encountered have been because people without planning knowledge have been able to think laterally and creatively in a way that some trained planners find difficult. A great example is a site where permission was granted within Flood Zone 3, which all the policies tell you should not be built on. And they make sense when you look at what’s been happening across the country in recent times. Unwilling to accept this limitation, when the owner looked at this bit of land very closely, it was clear that it was different to the neighbouring fields, and we were able to prove that the flood zone maps were wrong. It didn’t flood, we proved it, and permission was granted for a house. Sometimes it pays to investigate things yourself and not just to accept the broad-brush information provided by government departments or the council.
Sometimes building plots are not obvious but can make unexpected financial sense.
On a site in Oxfordshire, I got permission for a building plot by demolishing a side extension to an existing house. This was a poorly built 1960s flat-roof addition to a very nice house. Removing it created an attractive and valuable building plot in the conservation area of a desirable village, but this potential had gone unnoticed because it involved remodelling the existing house.
Conservation areas are sometimes more of an opportunity than a threat, as they are often misunderstood. They don’t prevent development, they just require whatever is built to preserve or enhance the character of that area. Sometimes new development can further this goal, either by removing existing buildings or simply by being committed to top quality, sensitively designed architecture. Think positively and you may be able to prove that your new house is a real benefit to the location.
Dig a little deeper
A few years ago, I was speaking about planning with someone who lived in a mobile home in the open countryside. It had been on a plot for over four years, but it had wheels, a chassis and, as far as I could see, it was a hopeless case as a building plot. A caravan alone is rarely justification for a replacement dwelling — there has to be a permanent dwelling on the site, not just a relatively recently installed caravan. Over a cup of tea to break the bad news to the owners that rarely can a simple caravan be replaced with a house, I noticed it had a chimney, and a brick chimney breast. In other words, the DIY enthusiasm of the owner had