Reapply for planning permission?

Phoenician

Just wondered if anyone has any advice. We received planning permission 6 years ago and have since gotten another 5 year extension for a 3700 sq ft house. Due to negative equity and as having trouble obtaining a mortgage for a house of that size we are considering downsizing the scale to 2200 sq ft but keeping the plans pretty much the same and reapplying for PP but I am worried we won't get accepted. But our thinking is we would rather build a smaller house and be able to finish it rather than live in a big house only half finished. Has anyone done this successfully or is it pretty much straightforward seeing as I was granted PP in first instance? Or is there any other way to go about it? Thanks

prewtna

Firstly, the plans are not 'pretty much the same'. A reduction in 1500sqFT is substantial and your local authority would regards it as such and the way i see it you have no option but to re-apply for planning.

Secondly, a very wise move to downsize the house. easier to heat, run etc (depending on how you re-design it!) and you can always extend in the future. i have seen way too many 3000 - 5000sqFt houses designed, planned and built, now unfinished, sitting cold and getting damp. its infuriating when trying to convince people of the size of these houses and the daftness of it all.

thirdly, my advice would be to re-apply by asking for 'Change of House Type to that previously granted under planning app ref ###'. You might have to do the percolation tests etc again but in my opinion there shouldn't be any huge problem - but with local authorities you never know! a sit down meeting with your local authority planner (the planner who looks after your area) would be a good idea before you get too involved in it and in an ideal world you should not go to these meetings yourself as you are emotionally invested in the process, whereas your professional person (architect / engineer) can look at it coldly and probably get better feedback than yourself.

Get yourself a professional appointed first though.

good luck

sydthebeat

prewtna wrote: »

........

thirdly, my advice would be to re-apply by asking for 'Change of House Type to that previously granted under planning app ref ###'.................

it would make sense to go down this route as applying for full permission now would only mean youd gain one year further before expiry.
Permission 6 years ago, plus an extra five means your permission will expire sometime in 2017, i assume. A new full application, if granted, will expire in 2018.

the advantage of a change of house design application means that its only the actual house design that is up for decision, all the other site factors such as effluent treatment, entrance sightlines etc are as the parent permission. By virtue that the council have already granted an extension, they have decided that all the site conditions are still in compliance with the development plan.

once the house design complies with rural design requirements, and by fact that its going to be smaller than what currently has permission, it should be quite straight forward*

* i accept no responsibility for any contrivance imposed by any planner

FarmersSon

I am pretty much at where the OP is at the moment.

I had plans passed for a 4000sq ft house, during the boom, when everyone was saying build the biggest house you can get away with. With changed circumstances, I am very glad that I never proceeded any further than putting the footing and foundations in.

I am in the process of applying for a change of house type for a 2400sq ft bungalow instead.

Granted I have my foundations in for the original plans, which cover 2000sq ft, I managed with a small increase in footprint to turn the layout into a bungalow.

Good luck OP with you change of house type. Smaller is most definitely better!!

observer2u

sydthebeat wrote: »

the advantage of a change of house design application means that its only the actual house design that is up for decision, all the other site factors such as effluent treatment, entrance sightlines etc are as the parent permission. By virtue that the council have already granted an extension, they have decided that all the site conditions are still in compliance with the development plan.

once the house design complies with rural design requirements, and by fact that its going to be smaller than what currently has permission, it should be quite straight forward*

* i accept no responsibility for any contrivance imposed by any planner

There is no facility for an application of this nature. The council ARE entitled to review the application in its entirety regardless of the fact that you are looking to change the house type.

Drainage requirements (SUDS) may have changed since the original application and therefore the ability to meet the council requirements now versus what was needed to meet the councils requirements at the time of the original application mean that they can refuse the application. They can also add conditions that weren't previously part of the decision

That said, a good professional would be able to construct a very good argument based on precedent etc. etc.

sydthebeat

observer2u wrote: »

There is no facility for an application of this nature. The council ARE entitled to review the application in its entirety regardless of the fact that you are looking to change the house type.

Drainage requirements (SUDS) may have changed since the original application and therefore the ability to meet the council requirements now versus what was needed to meet the councils requirements at the time of the original application mean that they can refuse the application. They can also add conditions that weren't previously part of the decision

That said, a good professional would be able to construct a very good argument based on precedent etc. etc.

You are actually incorrect because you have ignored a vital fact. The local authority have, last year, determined that an extension of duration is applicable in this case. This fact implicitly means that there had ben no change to local authority policy since the original application, otherwise an extension could not have been granted.

Applications for 'change of design' are part and parcel of everyday planning applications. I'm not sure what local authority you are used to dealing with which hasn't applications of this nature.

I agree that the council can review any aspect of the application, however as I have shown above, there is unlikely to be any issue in this case. In most cases of 'change of design' the first condition will refer to the conditions of the parent permission, unless alerted by subsequent conditions.

this is a very common type of application these days.

Phoenician

Thank you all for the very helpful feedback.. we are going to arrange a meeting with the council with new plans etc., and go from there. My fear is losing PP but would rather take that chance than to one day build a house we cannot afford or be left with a half finished build. As FarmersSon said "smaller is most definitely better".. lesson learned!

hellsbells83

Just wondering if you had any success Phoenician in getting permission for the change in house type?