Extending to the front of a property?

aranmore

Hi,

We are very interested in a bungalow on about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of an acre in the Kildare area, not far from where myself and my husband are both from. While it is a relatively rural area the bungalow itself is actually a semi-detached former council home built in about 1963. There are four such bungalows in the row.

The bungalow is perfectly habitable but its is very small so we would be buying it with a view to extending it significantly. At least two neighbours have completed significant extensions to the side and rear of similar houses.

The bungalow is set very far back in the site itself, most of the land is to the front, so my question is, what is the likelihood of us being permitted to extend to the side (as has been done by neighbours) but with that extension starting a few feet in front of the main line of the house. It would give us more room to play with. I know planners aren't usually keen on changing the front line of a house, but the site is a bit restrictive and I wondered if a sensitive design, allowing us to use some of the wasted land to the front, would be at least be considered?

Also, what are the chances of getting a dormer extension to one side of the bungalow?

We are very much at the ideas stage and I know planning is a bit of a nightmare so would be interested to hear what sort of ideas will immediately set alarm bells ringing with planners.

Any advice / comments appreciated

sydthebeat

i think its very hard for anyone here to advise without that advice seeming very generic and shallow. what you are doing would require very 'sensitive design' as you put it yourself, therefore you are really into a very specialised design for a very specialised situation. Is the dwelling on the end of the four, or in the middle? on the end may lead to a more 'book-end' type design.

Obviously the only one that can answer your questions with any degree of assurity would be the planner them self. I suppose a few pointers would be to:
1. if going above single storey ensure no windows in habitable rooms on side elevations
2. i would think a very contemporary design that separates the proposed from the established would work in this situation. Any attempt to copy existing features may seem pastiche.
3. retain decent separation from adjoining dwellings.

muffler

Id agree with syd generally apart from point no. 2. Its difficult to say what the best approach should be in relation to design without seeing the existing structure but I'd rather see a design than would integrate with and be sympathetic to your own house and adjacent properties. Thats just my take on it.

As syd pointed out the final say will lie with the planner. perhaps you should look for a pre planning meeting to discuss your proposals.

aranmore

Thanks Sydthebeat and Muffler.

Just to clarify there are 4 bungalows in the group but they are attached in pairs, so there are 2 pairs of semi-detached homes. Personally I think we could try to push things a bit more becuase it is semi-d not terraced.

I find your comments Sydthebeat about a modern extension interesting, as that is exactly what we had in mind. I have seen similar buildings to what we have in mind - and have taken the odd sneaky photo so we can properly explain to an architect what we are looking for.

The other point is that the property to the right of us, which is not attached, has very mature hedging between them and us and certainly wouldn't be overlooked in any way by an extension - it's remarkably private.

A pre-planning meeting sounds like a good idea, Muffler, and not something I would have though of. Is there any risk though that they might rule things out before we even have a chance to present a good design to them?

muffler

Some people will swear by pre planning meetings and others would drop them like a hot potato. It could take several weeks if not longer to get a meeting arranged. if you had a draft design prepared (and maybe a "plan B" to fall back on) together with a couple of photos of your own and adjacent houses then you can discuss it in a bit more detail with the planner.

In theory the planner should indicate to you what type of design would be acceptable by the local Council and if there is any precedent set in the locality of building forward of the existing front building line then its a good idea to have photos of that also together with maps identifying the properties (if any).

They are there to guide and assist you although it doesn't always appear to be that way. If they did rule out a particular design well its good to get it sorted out at pre planning stage rather than formally submitting an application with a full set of drawings only to have the thing shot down after 2 months.

Garroldy

Extending to the front is dependent on each case, but is perfectly viable given the right site and design. ( In particular if you are talking about extending a few feet on a large site with a good set back from the road).

On your other point, I have seen quite significant revamping of these types of council semi-detached bungalows in Co. Kildare. One involved the entire house being turned into a dormer. That was within town boundaries, your rural setting may be different in the planners eyes. It does indicate however that the planners are open to differing options.