Council just rejected my extension plans !!! Help !!! :((((

[mumtosp]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can come along and offer some advice as I seem to have an architect who is bad at communicating and may also not know what he's doing... and I am now in a panic ! :(

I've attached pictures of the original plan and also the extension. You can see in the original plan, that the house has been extended to the side, beyond the original side line of the house and this was done under permission.

So my architect said that since we are doing a rear extension of 6m, that falls under permitted developement (PD) as opposed to needing planning permissions. Everything was submitted end of Dec and we were hoping to get everything approved by now. Then this morning, when the architect called the council, they said it was rejected :( :( :( (this is the Bromley council btw)

My council apparently told my architect that it will be approved only if we demolish the existing side extension - where the WC is. This didn't make any sense to me as the current extension has already been approved by the council!

So I called the council myself and they said that under permitted developement, the rear extension cannot touch the side extension even if the side extention was previously approved. They also said that this is the rule and the architect should have known not to submit this as a 'permitted developement' project! I have also read on a few other websites and they all seem to say the same thing.

My architect keeps on insisting that this rule falls under a grey area and every council interprets it differently! Is that so???

Also, he is saying that if we want to stick to our 6 m extention, then we should do what the council is saying and knock down the existing side extention.
So then I told him, why can't we just submit this as a proper planing permission and keep the side extension... he says that under planning permission I can only get a rear extension of 4 m... is that correct ???

I don't know what to do next :( :(

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance :)

[Seeline]

No - definitely exists in England wookie

[mumtosp]

shove Seeline are you saying that I don't necessarily need a certificate of lawfulness, but it's a good to have when we come to sell the house?

[Seeline]

If you are sure that what you are doing is pd, then you don't have to have a Certificate. They are useful if the design of an extension/alteration may be open to interpretation. If the proposal is straightforward, it is unlikely that you would need a Certificate. However, sometimes prospective purchasers require proof that pp was not required for something so if you have had a Certificate granted, you have that proof.

[Seeline]

government advice on Certificates here

[shovetheholly]

I am in the early phases of getting plans drawn for an extension, and I am definitely going to go through the whole planning process because what I'm doing is slightly unconventional (I have architect friends with crazy ideas! ). If I were doing a more standard extension, I would just get a certificate - I do think it's worth having because there are then no issues when you sell.

[Seeline]

shove - you either need full planning permission or you don't. If your proposal is pd, you can't apply for planning permission - the Council will probably either convert it into a Certificate application or return it.

[shovetheholly]

Sorry, I put that REAAAALLLY badly! My proposal is not PD! So we are going for permission as a matter of necessity. We have supportive neighbours and good architects, so fingers crossed.

I was just saying if it were borderline PD, i.e. if I were in the OP's shoes and questions had been raised about one element (in her case, the side extension), I'd see the certificate as a kind of insurance policy - something that'd help me sell the house at a later date. I wouldn't want to assume PD for something that might be queried at a later date IYSWIM.

[mumtosp]

Understood.... I don't really need a certificate, but it would be good to have... Especially given the confusion around the side extension.
One more question... Once my application has gone through the 21 neighbour consultation period and assuming no one has raised any objections, I can go ahead with the build right?? I can always get the certificate of lawfulness at a later stage?

Thanks 😊

[Seeline]

It's easier to get one before you start - although if you have been through the consultation procedure with the council, that should be sufficient so make sure you keep all the paper work.
To apply for a certificate post-development, you have to apply for a Certificate of Existing Lawful development, and therefore have to prove that the development was pd at the time it was built, which can be harder. Alternatively, once the proposal has been up for 4 years, and the Council have taken no action against it, it becomes exempt from enforcement action. Not quite the same thing, but means the council can't then ask for it to be removed/altered, so again, make sure you know the date it was finished - Building Regs completion certificate or something.

[mumtosp]

Thanks Seeline. It sounds as if I should be sorting out the certificate of lawfullness now while the build is yet to start. I will look up on the council site on how to go about it...

[Kilby37]

Hi, I'm looking for people's stories about planning for my phd research, over on the surveys/students thread here on Mumsnet. I'd be really grateful if you could take a look and consider contributing.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/surveys_students_non_profits_and_start_ups/2851018-Wanted-Your-experience-of-the-UK-planning-system-for-PhD-research?watched=1

[Lonecatwithkitten]

@Codr hopefully as the OP posted 3 years ago this has no been resolved.
ZOOMBIE