"Rod Carrol" wrote in message
om...

Thanks for the quick responses, guys - I appreciate that.

I thought it didn't sound quite right - especially as he couldn't tell
me what 'quota' he was going on about ) so... I'll be taking all
your advice as I look into this over the next few weeks.

Just to add my two penn'orth... I'd thoroughly recommend a visit to the
planning office; they are usually open to meeting people, and you could
informally run your ideas past them (take photos along, of your house and
the street; plus rough sketches of your proposals) and you should get some
useful feedback on how the planning committee are likely to receive the
application, plus suggestions on what you should or shouldn't do to increase
chances of success. By going in person and establishing some rapport, you
might find they'll open up a bit and give you useful 'off the record'
information. Well worth doing, before you start laying out cash to
architects etc.

You might also want to consider the effect of your proposal on the value of
your property, if you do go ahead. Any estate agent will tell you it's
certainly possible to over-extend; eg, if you were to convert a two-up
two-down in a run-down inner city area into a 4-storey 6-bedroom mansion
with swimming pool, it won't sell - locals wouldn't want it or be able to
afford it; and those buyers who could afford it wouldn't want to live in
that area. An exaggeration, but you get the point...!

David