Please could you come and talk to me about doing an extension on a terraced house

[ChesterTown]

We can't afford to move, and like our house anyway. However we really need a loo/shower downstairs and an extra room, as it is bursting at the seams! We are in a 1930's terrace, with no side or rear access at all. Everything will have to come throught the house.
We would like to build a 12x12 foot room on one side, and a 5x9 foot room alongside it, so we would be building all the way across.
Any idea how long this would take, and how traumatic it would be? It is unlikely that we could move out for any period of time, although we could move upstairs.
Any advice from those that have been there, or builders, architects, planners? Many thanks

Depending on the builders that could take anything up to about 20 weeks.It is a pita no doubt but if you could set up a sanctuary upstairs that would help.A makeshift kitcen of microwave toaster and kettle can produce quite an extensive menu!How many kids and how old?

That was a quick reply! 20 weeks - crapola!
3 children 8,7,4. It is going to be hell isn't it?

Unfortunatrely yes for you but they will love it.My ds has lived through 10 renovations and became great friends with the builders and found all the topsy turvy fun!

From a planning point of view the first thing you should do is find out from your council's planning dept if you need planning permission or not. they should have a form you can fill in with all the details which you send in and they write back and tell you if you need to make an application or not. this service should be free and if you don't need planning permission then it will save you the £150 planning fee. You'll have to build to the dimensions you've told them though so if your extension suddenly changes in terms of size or design then I would double check first whether or not you will still not need permission.

If you do need to make an application then the main things the planning dept will take into account when determining the application is how the extension will impact on your neighbours in terms of loss of light, loss of privacy and creating an oppressive/overbearing environment (for example you will need to think about how much your extension will extend along the boundaries with your neighbours) and how the extension fits in with the character of the existing dwelling and locality. The planning department might have some guidelines on the size, position, design etc of extensions.

If the planning dept tell you that you need permission I would then suggest asking them if you're likely to get permission before submitting the application, in order to give you an idea of the likely success of your proposal and if needs be you can make any amendments beforehand. If you have to submit an application it can take upto 8 weeks to be decided and your neighbours and the Parish Council (if you have one) will definitely be consulted along with any other consultees that are relevant to where you live.

You will probably need Building Regulations though, regardless of whether you need planning permission. If you contact the council's Building Control dept they should be able to help you with what you need to do in respect of Building Regs.

Hope this helps!

Thanks maxmissie . That is really helpful.
I suspect we will need PP. We already have a loft conversion, and the current footprint isn't that big, so the extention will be about 25% of the existin space I reckon. I am hoping it would be approved though - we would go as far out on one side as our neighbours who have a small extention, and a few feet more than our other neighbours who have a brick-built garden room/conservatory. I know that party wall arrangements will have to be sorted as we will be building up against both existing neighbouring extensions. I also know that can be complicated. Is that part of PP or building regs though
I feel all faint just thinking about it lol!
Noddy - 10 removations? All bow down. You must be 'ard!

I think 20 weeks is pessimistic. I had mega extensiom on side of house inc 2 new bathrooms and it was finished in 14 weeks

14 weeks sounds good!

you might not need planning permission as the rules changed last year so I don't think the volume of existing extensions and/or the % of the existing footprint/volume are no longer taken into account (although I don't deal with these very often so don't know all the new rules!). also in any case the volume of your loft conversion shouldn't be taken into account as you used existing space within the house rather than extending (unless you added dormer windows and then these would be taken into account I think!) it's all to confusing for me and I'm a planner! definitely get it checked out first though the council should be able to tell you pretty quickly.

it sounds like the extension wouldn't significantly affect your neighbours as they already have extensions anyway, it's more of a problem if they don't as then you end up extending a long way beyond their back windows.

The party wall act isn't done under planning permission and not sure if its covered by building regs or whether its separate - building control should be able to tell you what you need to do.

14 weeks sounds better, but still hellish lol! My main fear is about the lack of access. I assume this will add to costs and time quite a bit?
Maxmissie - is it worth me phoning PP to have an informal chat at this stage, or should I wait till the plans are drawn up? (and should I get them drawn up by an architect or builder do you think?)
Any sites/books you would recommend to help me with any aspects of this - practical and/or emotional

I would ring them up asap and say you are planning an extension and want to know whether you need pp and if so are you likely to get it? they should have a set procedure for dealing with such queries - i suspect they will want you to send in some details so they know exactly what you want to build but every council deals with them in different ways. If i were you I would want something in writing from them, which will be particularly useful if you ever sell your house and the buyers solicitor wants to know if you needed pp for your extension.

If you do need to send something in then you should be able to provide some sketches yourself rather than waiting for the proper plans to be drawn up - again this will depend on the planning dept but where i work we don't expect people to submit detailed proper plans at pre-application stage, especially for extensions.

Can't suggest any books but your council might have some info on their own website (you will probably need to look at their planning/development control pages) and also the planning portal might have some useful stuff - www.planningportal.gov.uk