On 4 Jun 2004 02:14:31 -0700, (NickW) wrote:

I have a 2 acre plot in rural Suffolk. We do not live within the
village development boundary. The planning office has already
informally said they would not recommend permission for a new house.

However, I might still give it a bash... but I need an angle.

Here are some plus points:

* Part of my back garden is already fenced off and has been for years
- it looks like another plot.

* It has seperate access via a track which is well established.
Although the track crosses the village green, vehicles *are* permitted
along it because it's also used by another cottage.

* There are two unsightly delapidated barns (steel/asbestos) which the
house would replace

* If the house was a bungalow, it would probably not be visible from
the road.

* I have plans for an eco friendly house using solar water heating,
passive solar space heating with thermal storage, wood burning stoves,
eco friendly building materials and maybe some photovoltaic panels
etc.

* There is plenty of room for more than just one extra house, I could
offer a plot to put a couple of low-cost houses on, sold to the
council at cost.

What do you think my chances are?

My first thoughts are that in my opinion most local councillors and
planning officials who get to make a decision on what is built are a
bunch of old fogies driven by nimbyism, oneupmanship and sour grapes.
If they set their minds against you, for any reason, hell will freeze
over until these petty jobsworths with the power of Fidel Castro to
change their minds, or have it changed for them by higher powers.

I would never bother myself. I have heard of several examples where
there were perfectly good proposals to even just replace an existing
property, let alone build a new one next door, and the
council/planning authorities have just said, no, you may not. One
would have better luck getting on Schindler's List.

The way things are planned in this country is archaic. It is one of
the reasons why so few properties are being built and why there is no
cheap housing any more for the lower paid to get on to the housing
ladder.

However, you might consider selling the land instead to one of the
larger builders, who would probably know which strings to pull and
palms to grease, as that what it comes down to with our marvellous
system from the middle ages.

MM