MarkO

Kenny,

Got a planning question about a house we're interested in buying in the Borders. Who's the best person to speak to re: getting an opinion about a potential extension before we put in an offer?

Can you email me?

Cheers,

andrewdelvard

Astraboys Email Address : astraboy_uk@yahoo.co.uk

PG

andrewdelvard

Sorry :face goes red: read it wrong! Lol !!!

LG John

Phone the scottish borders council planning department. My mate Kevin Murphy works there but I'm not sure which area he covers. Phone them tomorrow and ask what sort of level of extension they find acceptable, ask what local plan policies would apply to such a proposal and ask for a copy of them. Make sure any architect designing a scheme for you reads and understands those policies - ALL planning applications MUST be determined in accordance with those policies unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Try and be clear in your head what you want to do/achieve before going on the phone. Don't just say, 'I want an extension' that can mean soooooo many things You also want to know if the building is listed or in a conservation area. Once you've got all this info from the planning department and an opinion from them on what is and is not possible you should have a clearer idea of whether its the house for you or not

Also remember that often you can make an extension to the house through Permitted Development Rights which do not require planning permission - keep to those thresholds and you'll save £110 on an application fee

MarkO

Thanks SB. Basically it's a cottage which has a dormer (which was built in the last 5 years) on the back of the roof, and I want to find out if we would be able to extend the dormer to the full length of the house.

We haven't had an architect involved - we only saw the house for the first time today.

Oh, and what's the phone number?

LG John

No idea on the number - should be in your phone book somewhere!

Full length dormer......arg!! I've refused a few of those in the past

MarkO

Pfff. Spoke to Julia Hayward at the planning office. "I'm snowed under, won't be able to even give you an opinion for at least 3 weeks".

The closing date for bidding on the property is the 23rd Sept. So that's about as much use as a chocolate teapot on board a chickenwire submarine.

LG John

Sucks huh! I kid you not you'll be lucky to find a planning department in the Central Belt that is any different - its hell

Ask for a copy of the applicable policies and make an assessment yourself as to whether your proposal would accord with those policies.

MarkO

We're going to speak to our solicitor who's pretty experienced and get an opinion from him....