Village settlement envelope and conservation area what does thie mean?

[soonbesailing]

Hi we are looking at a house in Bedfordshire that is within the village settlement envelope and conservation area, anyone have any idea how this may restrict us with regard to converting attached barns?

The house is not listed and has planning permission to extend into the barns but we don't really like what has been drawn and would want to have more glazing at ground floor level than is currently shown.

I will obviously speak to the council, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience of this.

[iseenodust]

Don't know what settlement envelope means but conservation area means very drawn out planning application process. Took us 2 years to get an application through. They agree in principle to our extension but not what would look best (every house on the street is completely different). We said we'll have whatever style windows you recommend but different planners (local, conservation & one other) couldn't agree among themselves.

On the upside you have plans so they should be able to give you quick answers on what was the basis of agreement and why - giving you clues as to what might be acceptable or not.

[Sausagedog27]

Settlement envelope- it means that if you are in it it's classified as a settlement and there is more likelihood of being able to build new dwellings or convert existing into separate houses.

Conservation area- more restrictions on what you cannot do without planning permission. Any proposals must preserve or enhance the character of the area.

With barn conversions, the principal is usually to keep the character of the barn- not to over domesticate it/create a cottage character. Councils tend not to like lots of new openings- usually restricted to existing openings. It might be worth checking on the planning policy pages of the website to see if there is any 'supplementary planning guidance' on barn conversions.

Good luck!

[tricot39]

i am not a planner but i would guess that the settlement envelope has been set so that building works/developments are limited to prevent sprawl.

ask to speak to your local conservation officer. they might be able to advise on whether they would be amenable to making alterations to your permission. you want to aim for the planning officer doing this on his own under "delegated powers". it gets more difficult/time consuming if they have to "go to committee".

you might also speak to the neighbours to see whether they would object should you have to reapply. but then again they maybe objected first time! have you checked what you can see on the planning portal/your LA website?

[soonbesailing]

All very interesting thank you, the house has had two planning applications submitted and accepted (over a period of about 4 years) the first was to turn all of the barn into a separate dwelling, the second was to convert one end into a separate dwelling and keep the rest with the existing house.

We want to turn all of the property into one house (it is already connected but the barns are unconverted)

The barn section isn't viewed from the road as the house has a large garden wall, so I'm hoping we may be able to get away with some exta glazing at ground level, but we will have to speak to the conservation officer.

Does anyone know if being in a conservation area effects what you can do inside an existing house (ie take out walls) as the actual house section is Georgian but not listed and we would ideally like to knock two bedrooms into one. We definately do not want to change anything on the outside except refurbishment of the existing windows.

[Sausagedog27]

Sounds promising op if it's had planning permission already! For what it's worth though, it might not make any difference if the barn can be seen or not with regard to wanting extra glazing- its usually about the character of the barn. If you want extra, try and justify why ie to light a particular area/room that doesn't have any etc. also try and design window/opening in a way so that it looks as if an opening was always there.

With regard to conservation area- it doesn't apply to internal features such as walls etc, so you won't need planning consent, although you may need building regulations. Double check that it's not listed though as it would need permission for a listed building. Windows might need permission if you are replacing- general refurb unlikely. Might be worth mentioning to the conservation officer though (and also to enquire about grants for repairs, although councils tend not to have grant schemes any more, it's always worth asking!)