Planning permission

[gatesmr2]

Hello

Been a while since i have been on through family problems.

Was wondering if there are any folks who might point me in the right direction.

I am looking at building a house, i have land but i know i am in a bad area to get permission. I have contacted a specialist who wants close to £1000 just to come and look to see if it is really viable. :shock:

A little about my position, my family have lived here for over 30 years i have 3 acres of land where our house sits in the middle of a long strip with two fields either side of about an acre. With a single track road fronting all. The land is hard clay and also being small fields has not been worked for over 25 years just left to grass. It is on one of these fields i wish to build by selling the house and other field.

Now the down side.
It sits about a mile from any village with farmland around us and paddocks.
So any chance of going about it normally are about 0%
I know i will have to pay a Professional but don't like the idea of a first look to say if it is worth it at such a price.

Could anyone help in recommending someone in the Cambridgeshire area.

Many Thanks

Martin

 

[RogerS]

Do Cambridgeshire have planning surgeries?

Do they have published Development Plan (might not be called that)?

Hereford have both and when I was exploring an option to build a house on some land I went to three different surgeries - with three different officers - and all three referred to the County plan and the answer was a resounding No.

Just a thought to save you some money.

 

[MikeG.]

Martin,

That's not a million miles from me.....and I won't charge a thousand pounds to come and advise.

However, I may save you from the expense just by saying the following: there is a general presumption against development in the countryside. Unless you are within a village envelope, or infilling a small gap in a hamlet (very few even allow this nowadays), pretty much your only chance of a new-build in the countryside is if it is built with an agricultural tie.

To go down this route you will need to be able to show that the land supports the house financially from agricultural activities (farming, bee keeping etc).

If there are any mitigating circumstances that might fall within the above, please feel free to PM me and I'll happily come and have a look.......but from what I know at the moment I wouldn't be optimistic of your chances of a successful application. Sorry!

Mike

 

[Digit]

As regards the farming, Bee keeping etc Mike. I accept that different areas may apply various rules differently, but in Devon my father kept two Geese.
Livestock farmer!!! :lol:
Locally a chat and a personal visit with the planning dept costs nowt!

Roy.

 

[MikeG.]

Yes, but those two geese would have to produce enough annual income to support a household if permission were to be obtained for a tied house. They would surely have to lay golden eggs!

Mike

 

[Digit]

I think they worked on a nod and wink basis Mike.

Roy.

 

[gatesmr2]

Thanks for the quick relies

Mike i know getting planning normally will be nearly impossible, but have spoken to a few people (ok now two of these where here say so can't go much by them.) one of which got planning without the need for agricultural etc. I know that normally you have to go through that route and another friend has done just that taking years to get through as a nursery.

My only thought is i also know two people very local to me one has a nice new house and so had his father until he sold and moved into the village. The other was good friend with the first, the first man is on the local Parish council. Ok they are all farmers etc but none of the houses have any real reason to be there as they are not near any of there land and don't have and yards etc to keep equipment safe.

I was looking at spending upwards of 30k just to get planning as this would not be an overly high price to pay to stay in the area i grew up in. Of course having the land and money for this is a bonus as an acre with planning would at a guess be closer to 100k.
If you still think i may be on to a looser at the moment what are the chances of it changing when things pick up say 5 years or so.

Digit

Thanks for the advice i have already spoken to my local planning officer and he told me a straight no as we are outside of the village boundaries.
Although i have never heard about planning surgeries so will have a look for one.


Thanks

 

[Digit]

I know that there are supposed to be rules Gates but I got a straight no from one officer and a yes a week later from another!
Locally they take into account whether you already live and work here as well. In these circumstances there are rules governing when you can sell on.
Why not ask those who have already had permission how they got it? There might just be some wrinkle that you can exploit.
Here we can appeal to the Welsh Assembly above the local planning dept as well.

Roy.

 

[MikeG.]

If you still think i may be on to a looser at the moment what are the chances of it changing when things pick up say 5 years or so.

Planning policies are reviewed on a ten-yearly basis normally.....and have nothing whatsoever to do with economic circumstances. I'd love to tell you that you have a chance.....but nothing I've read suggests any route to Planning Permission that I've ever heard of, I'm afraid. My advice would certainly be to not spend £30,000 pursuing this dream.

Strange as it may seem, architects aren't usually the best people to answer these sorts of questions. Planning Consultants are the category you need to be talking to........You need a local one, and you need to be very attentive to their response. If they say "very little chance", or something similar, then just forget it.

Mike

 

[head clansman]

hi Martin


Don't know if this is of any help , Mike may know more than i do , here in Dorset i have heard other got around the planning side of thing if there had been some sort of building on the land before, even if it's no longer there, you say you been there 30 yrs so you should know , might be an idea if you can find out perhaps if something was their previous to your family owning it . If there was i only assume it had some sort of planning , so can't really see them refusing you now. planning ah ha terrible , good luck. hc

 

[MikeG.]

Even that doesn't work.......

An application for a replacement dwelling usually has to be made within 6 months of the loss of the original.

Mike

 

[Tom K]

Aren't you allowed to erect an agricultural type building? Barn or Stable and then try for permission to convert?

 

[cambournepete]

Your best bet to start with is to talk to your local planning department - if you're in South Cambs I can give you a name to have an initial chat with.
Best to have an idea of the style of house you'd want I guess.

Being on the Parish council is no help as they are not a planning authority (I know because I'm chair of our planning committee ).

From what you've said I think it unlikely you'd get permission.

One more thought - it might be possible to get some free or cheap advice from a self-build company (e.g. Potton), they can usually provide a complete service from planning right through to painting...

 

[gatesmr2]

Thanks for your replies

Sorry i did not reply sooner been very busy.

Pete i live near to Wisbech, and have not thought about going to Potton etc i have looked at there houses whislt looking at what to build etc so thanks will give that a go.

Mike sorry that is wat i meant when i said specialist although it was in a firm of solicitors but where meant to deal with this sort of thing, they where not a million miles from you can't think of there name now but Bury St Edmonds.

Rogers have looked at Fenlands plan and the annoying part of it is they are expanding my area between Wisbech and Peterborough along with transport upgrades etc. This is why i thought i might be able to "sneak" a bungalow in as they want to expand or infill the villages.

Can you recommend a good firm please Mike as you are in that trade as i said don;t mind paying for someones time etc for a chat and a look but don't wish to waste nearly 1k just to get told no chance.

Many Thanks for you help

Martin

 

[MikeG.]

Martin,

PM me tomorrow to remind me, and I'll point you towards some people who might be able to help.

Mike