Old plans rejected on house buying.

[NoTeaForMe]

So we finally had all the documentation through on the house we are buying and have plans to extend (just plans/ideas in our heads!) This local search is the last thing we had been waiting for. In it it says that the house had plans for an extension rejected in 1975. No more information than that. I’ve gone onto our council website and there’s nothing there for this house at all. I had checked it before offering as we knew we wanted to make changes and pretty much all houses on the street have had extensions done and planning approved.

What are the chances that we would now get plans approved? Is this something I should worry about? I am slightly freaking out. We are supposed to exchange early next week and move the week after.....

46 years ago? Wouldn't be the slightest bit worried - planning rules have evolved a lot since then!

I don’t think planning decisions from that far back would be included on the online portal. As previous poster says, a decision taken back in 1975 would have been informed by e.g. the character of the neighbourhood back then, or, the plan for the extension could have been entirely unsuitable. It doesn’t mean yours would be rejected, especially if there’s precedent set in neighbouring properties - although it’s always always advisable to have an informal conversation with the local planning officer to get a view of whether they’re confident consent would be granted before getting this far into the buying process, if wanting the property is largely contingent on getting consent.

Planning rules have changed since then. The government actively encourages extensions now. If neighbours have extensions a precedent has been set so they’re unlikely to say no. You may even be able to do an extension under permitted development. If you’re worried ring the planning dept for a chat?

Thank you! I have no idea what the plans are for and there are certainly plans approved for all sorts of extensions on that road in the years since. I think it was just a surprise after waiting for the paperwork for what feels like an age.

Your LPA should be able to provide you with this if you were to request them. They may charge a fee as it means them going back onto the original microfiche system. But even if you did have copies of the documents, they would not have any relevance in today’s world.

If other properties have been the subject of extensions and similar to what you’re proposing, have a look at their Planning applications via the Council website. LPA’s very but their online database would normally go back to around 2005.