To extend or not? Planning fatigue

[rivalsbinge]

We have a small 2 bed cottage we converted the dining room to a 3rd bedroom room and bought with a plan to extend and create a kitchen, living space and an extra bedroom and bathroom. We’ve previously extended a listed house.

Our local council are being so stubborn and 3 planning applications later which have spanned 2 years and 10k of out budget on architects and we are now on application 4 and starting to wonder why we are bothering.

so option 1

Keep the money (£250k) budget and invest and live and embrace the tiny home while renovating the spaces we have a maybe do a very small glass conservatory.

option 2

keep going, and eventually get the larger home with views, lovely kitchen and big bedroom.

we are mid 50s no plans to move until we need to as we are rural, our DS are older now and spend less time in the house, one is away at the moment for a few months so the space while nice is becoming less urgent.

i think we’ve got so caught up in the battle to win planning and extend I’m starting to wonder if it’s a sign to not bother and just make the most of what we have, and yet I can still picture and think about the extra space!!

Im going round in circles. We are not shy of larger projects mess and upheaval we’ve done it before it’s more I think the current economic situation makes me feel like holding the cash a bit closer.

Has anyone else just given up and adjusted to the smaller space, when i say small its tiny! 2 up 2 down cottage with a 80s extension and just one bathroom!

Move?

Really depends on the reasons for refusal and if there is a way round it.
Is it green belt, or AONB/National Park etc
Or loss of a small dwelling?
Of just change in character, impact on neighbours etc?

Have you fully explored what can be done under permitted development and used that as a fall back position?

And have you used a planning consultant rather than an architect?

Yes we have a consultant, we are conservative area but not listed surround by homes who have extended so no obvious restrictions. The reasons for refusal are wolly and vague and confusing the consultant as well, if we go ahead with this next one we still have no clear guide as to what’s wrong with the previous schemes. parish council are happy with all, it’s just a new heritage officer that swam to be wielding some crazy powers that haven’t applied to any other cottages. We are all a bit baffled TBH as we have followed all guides on scale, mass, heights, materials.. if we do the next one it’s pre app, submission and appeal as I’m not taking no anymore.

it’s just exhausting really and seems very pointless, hence thinking bolloks to it.

We would have to renovate to move, the interiors are dated and some rooms half done waiting to crack on with the larger project, we’ve been in 3 years and 2 years of that in planning, drawings cycles and now our bloody 2k bat survey is out of date.

if we moved we’d also loose the 30k+ stamp duty and struggle to replace this setting which is beautiful.

If you're planning to move eventually, why not do it now and save all the stress?

We would maybe move in our 70s or when we can’t drive as we are rural, but moving now we’d struggle to get the location and setting the cottage is in. And we’d loose money as well due to stamp duty only being paid 3 years ago and the house prices at the moment being lower.

That sounds tough! If it is an over-zealous conservation officer, it sounds as though going to appeal is the only route.
The refusal reasons should give a clear idea of the issues so it's poor if they don't. I'm sure you've seen the comments from the Conservation officer and the planning officer's report on line. There should be clues there too.
Good luck.