Hi

I googled but couldn't find anything tht really matched my question.

I have a new townhouse (3 years old) that has an integral garage and
driveway that is big enough for one car. next to the drive is a flaged path
and then a small patch of grass (about 1.5m wide by 4m long). My idea was to
convert the path and grass to another parking space. The only problem is
that there is a lamp post at the bottom of the garden so access to the new
space would be only available when there was not another car in the existing
drive. Contacted the council about a possible lamp post move but they have
not adopted the street along with the lights yet. So contacted the developer
who is currently responsible, They said they would not move it as it was
already agreed by planning as the location of that lamp post. They then went
on to say that our house only had planning for a single drive. That was it,
end of story as far as they were concerned.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? I am not too worried about the
lamp post, that can stay if it cannot be moved but I cant believe I cant dig
up some grass and replace it with say concrete (not that I would). Other
people have done their gardens, ie. rockery, all gravel, trees and shrubs.
Spoke to the neighbors about doing it and they think it is a great idea
because it saves parking one car on the street, and the current flag/garden
does not look pretty anyhow. Would probably block pave it so would look 10
times better. Various people(not experts) have suggested I go ahead and do
it anyway.

What do you think?

Paul

What do you think?

Check your deeds. You may need planning permission, or permission from the
developer to remove a covenant. This is usually available, provided the
developer has moved on. If they're still trying to sell houses, they will
probably refuse, as people sticking ugly concrete/front garden walls/front
extensions etc. can affect their sales.

Sometimes the convenants can be enforced by people other than the developer,
such as your neighbours.

Christian.

Paul ( Skiing8 ) wrote:
Hi

I googled but couldn't find anything tht really matched my question.

I have a new townhouse (3 years old) that has an integral garage and
driveway that is big enough for one car. next to the drive is a
flaged path and then a small patch of grass (about 1.5m wide by 4m
long). My idea was to convert the path and grass to another parking
space. The only problem is that there is a lamp post at the bottom of
the garden so access to the new space would be only available when
there was not another car in the existing drive. Contacted the
council about a possible lamp post move but they have not adopted the
street along with the lights yet. So contacted the developer who is
currently responsible, They said they would not move it as it was
already agreed by planning as the location of that lamp post. They
then went on to say that our house only had planning for a single
drive. That was it, end of story as far as they were concerned.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? I am not too worried about
the lamp post, that can stay if it cannot be moved but I cant believe
I cant dig up some grass and replace it with say concrete (not that I
would). Other people have done their gardens, ie. rockery, all
gravel, trees and shrubs. Spoke to the neighbors about doing it and
they think it is a great idea because it saves parking one car on the
street, and the current flag/garden does not look pretty anyhow.
Would probably block pave it so would look 10 times better. Various
people(not experts) have suggested I go ahead and do it anyway.

What do you think?

Paul

AFAIK, you cannot widen your driveway (ie. entrance onto the road) without
permission from the council (or as it seems in your case, the developer).
Some links + quotes:

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/www...ing/Patios.asp

You will also need to apply for planning permission if:


a.. You propose to construct a new driveway or widen an existing driveway
that provides access on to a trunk or classified road.

The Highways section will be able to tell you if the road you live on
falls within the above category.


b.. You are constructing a driveway over an existing grass or other verge
that does not currently form an approved means of access to your house.
(note: this constitutes a change of use to the land and as such you will
need to apply for planning permission).

You are advised to contact the Highways section within the Development and
Environmental Services Department as you may need to obtain separate
approval for the above.


http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/environ...nning/faqs.php

Do I need Planning Permission for a driveway?
You do not need Planning Permission for the dropped kerb itself, but you may
need permission for the creation of the access onto the road. This includes
cases where there is a breach in a wall or hedge.

You will need Planning Permission in each of the following circumstances:
1.. If the access is onto a classifies road.
2.. If the access would cause a traffic safety problem.
3.. If the access is to be formed in connection with works which
themselves require Planning Permission.
4.. If the access is not to be formed in connection with works which are
classed as 'Permitted Development' (i.e. works which do not need Planning
Permission).
5.. If the access is in connection with a property which is a flat or a
maisonette.
You may also need Planning Permission in the following cases:
1.. If you want to widen an existing access.
2.. If you are laying out a hardstanding (front parking area) and the
property is not a single-family dwelling (it may be divided into flats for
example)
3.. If when granted planning permission your house had a restrictive
condition imposed removing the normal right to construct an access - you
will need to check the planning history of your property to determine
whether such a condition applies.

"David Hearn" wrote in message
...
Paul ( Skiing8 ) wrote:
Hi

I googled but couldn't find anything tht really matched my question.

I have a new townhouse (3 years old) that has an integral garage and
driveway that is big enough for one car. next to the drive is a
flaged path and then a small patch of grass (about 1.5m wide by 4m
long). My idea was to convert the path and grass to another parking
space. The only problem is that there is a lamp post at the bottom of
the garden so access to the new space would be only available when
there was not another car in the existing drive. Contacted the
council about a possible lamp post move but they have not adopted the
street along with the lights yet. So contacted the developer who is
currently responsible, They said they would not move it as it was
already agreed by planning as the location of that lamp post. They
then went on to say that our house only had planning for a single
drive. That was it, end of story as far as they were concerned.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? I am not too worried about
the lamp post, that can stay if it cannot be moved but I cant believe
I cant dig up some grass and replace it with say concrete (not that I
would). Other people have done their gardens, ie. rockery, all
gravel, trees and shrubs. Spoke to the neighbors about doing it and
they think it is a great idea because it saves parking one car on the
street, and the current flag/garden does not look pretty anyhow.
Would probably block pave it so would look 10 times better. Various
people(not experts) have suggested I go ahead and do it anyway.

What do you think?

Paul

AFAIK, you cannot widen your driveway (ie. entrance onto the road) without
permission from the council (or as it seems in your case, the developer).
Some links + quotes:

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/www...ing/Patios.asp

You will also need to apply for planning permission if:


a.. You propose to construct a new driveway or widen an existing
driveway
that provides access on to a trunk or classified road.

The Highways section will be able to tell you if the road you live on
falls within the above category.


b.. You are constructing a driveway over an existing grass or other
verge
that does not currently form an approved means of access to your house.
(note: this constitutes a change of use to the land and as such you will
need to apply for planning permission).

You are advised to contact the Highways section within the Development
and
Environmental Services Department as you may need to obtain separate
approval for the above.


http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/environ...nning/faqs.php

Do I need Planning Permission for a driveway?
You do not need Planning Permission for the dropped kerb itself, but you
may
need permission for the creation of the access onto the road. This
includes
cases where there is a breach in a wall or hedge.

You will need Planning Permission in each of the following circumstances:
1.. If the access is onto a classifies road.
2.. If the access would cause a traffic safety problem.
3.. If the access is to be formed in connection with works which
themselves require Planning Permission.
4.. If the access is not to be formed in connection with works which are
classed as 'Permitted Development' (i.e. works which do not need Planning
Permission).
5.. If the access is in connection with a property which is a flat or a
maisonette.
You may also need Planning Permission in the following cases:
1.. If you want to widen an existing access.
2.. If you are laying out a hardstanding (front parking area) and the
property is not a single-family dwelling (it may be divided into flats for
example)
3.. If when granted planning permission your house had a restrictive
condition imposed removing the normal right to construct an access - you
will need to check the planning history of your property to determine
whether such a condition applies.



From reading the nottingham description it looks like I don't need
permission as it would be classed as a hardstanding and it wont be used for
parking of a commercial vehicle or for storing goods in connection with a
business, and won't widen an existing driveway that provides access on to a
trunk or classified road(its a cul-de-sac and the access will still be what
is existing). and I am not constructing a driveway over an existing grass or
other verge that does not currently form an approved means of access to your
house.

From reading the London (I am not in london) site the only thing that I may
have is a restrictive condition imposed removing the normal right to
construct an access.

but, the links gave me an idea to look at my local councils website and....
Patios and driveways. There are no restrictions on the area of land around
your house which you can cover with hard surfaces at, or near, ground level.
However, significant works of embanking or terracing to support a hard
surface might need a planning application. Alternatively, an elevated patio
or decking, especially if it creates useable space underneath, might be
regarded as an extension or garden building, and subject to the appropriate
limits. You will also need to apply for planning permission if the hard
surface is not to be used for domestic purposes and is to be used instead,
for example, for parking a commercial vehicle or for storing goods in
connection with a business. Ask the council if in doubt. You must obtain the
separate approval of the highways department of your council if a new
driveway would cross a pavement or verge. You will also need to apply for
planning permission if you want to make a new or wider access for your
driveway on to a trunk or other classified road. The highways department of
your council can tell you if the road falls into this category.

So it looks like I am ok to do what I like with my little bit of grass. I
think I have nothing to loose if I dig up the grass an create a pebble
garden. I could then park on it and if anyone or the council or the
developers complain then I just don't park on it. If nothing happens then I
can pave it properly. And then try to sort out the lamp post problem later.

Paul

"Paul ( Skiing8 )" wrote:
From reading the London (I am not in london) site the only thing that I
may
have is a restrictive condition imposed removing the normal right to
construct an access.

I would say it is highly likely that the developer will have placed
restrictive covenants over the property which will prevent you
altering aspects of the external appearance without their permission.
This may or may not relate to your parking/garden area, but the
only way to be sure is to check the land register entry. Whoever
did your conveyancing should have an office copy of this and
should provide it to you free of charge. The last new house I
bought said that I couldn't even paint the house a different colour
without permission for 80 years after the original purchase. It
also had restrictions on what I could park on my drive, which I
actually thought was a good idea - no unsightly caravans in that
close.

Al

"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...
"Paul ( Skiing8 )" wrote:
From reading the London (I am not in london) site the only thing that I
may
have is a restrictive condition imposed removing the normal right to
construct an access.

I would say it is highly likely that the developer will have placed
restrictive covenants over the property which will prevent you
altering aspects of the external appearance without their permission.
This may or may not relate to your parking/garden area, but the
only way to be sure is to check the land register entry. Whoever
did your conveyancing should have an office copy of this and
should provide it to you free of charge. The last new house I
bought said that I couldn't even paint the house a different colour
without permission for 80 years after the original purchase. It
also had restrictions on what I could park on my drive, which I
actually thought was a good idea - no unsightly caravans in that
close.

Al


This is probably true, I will check but I don't think I am allowed to build
a wall or fence in the front, don't know about the back because previous
owner and the two adjoining neighbours have put up a fence in the back....
although it is not overlooked by anyone else. Might also apply to a sky
dish.... previous owner and a few others have put them up... thinking about
moving mine anyhow to a place where it is not seen.

as far as altering gardens, many others have altered their's in far more
extreme ways..... there is at least one other property that just has gravel
in the place of the grass area although I have never noticed a car parked on
it (although if there was because of the layout of the townhouses you
wouldn't really notice)

The thing that I find really daft about the whole thing is that if I had the
extra space then our two cars would be parked on them, instead of one of the
cars being left in the street.... the street is already packed with cars in
stupid spots so it is not like it is going to be an eyesore or anything to
have two cars parked instead of a small patch of grass.

Paul

"Paul ( Skiing8 )" wrote:
The thing that I find really daft about the whole thing is that if I had
the
extra space then our two cars would be parked on them, instead of one of
the
cars being left in the street.... the street is already packed with cars
in
stupid spots so it is not like it is going to be an eyesore or anything to
have two cars parked instead of a small patch of grass.

That's true in your situation, because of the lamppost, but if
you were to get the lamppost moved and drop the kerb all
the way across, then you would be removing a bit of 'street'
parking and replacing it with your own. At the moment
anyone can park in front of that lamppost, but only you can
park on your garden.

I can't see there being much of an issue if all you are doing is
'widening' your drive and leaving the kerb and access as it is.

Al

"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...
"Paul ( Skiing8 )" wrote:
The thing that I find really daft about the whole thing is that if I had
the
extra space then our two cars would be parked on them, instead of one of
the
cars being left in the street.... the street is already packed with cars
in
stupid spots so it is not like it is going to be an eyesore or anything
to
have two cars parked instead of a small patch of grass.

That's true in your situation, because of the lamppost, but if
you were to get the lamppost moved and drop the kerb all
the way across, then you would be removing a bit of 'street'
parking and replacing it with your own. At the moment
anyone can park in front of that lamppost, but only you can
park on your garden.

I can't see there being much of an issue if all you are doing is
'widening' your drive and leaving the kerb and access as it is.

Al



Ahhhh, I kinda missed a vital bit of info

The whole street/close/cul-de-sac whatever you want to call it is block
paved and the curb is not really a curb, it is uniform wether it is a drive
or not. And nobody can park in front of my little bit of garden(its only
wide enough for a car widthways) in front of the lamp post because they
would also have to block my drive and it would also block others in (I
cannot also park in from of it and my drive because of this).

If I was to get the lamp post removed then the curb would not have to be
altered at all because it is exactly the same as in front of the drive. In
fact this is a good thing as I sometimes have to reverse over over the
flagged path and a bit to the side to get out the drive if there is another
car parked across the way. when I do this I am only inches from the lamp,
this could be another good reason for removing it.... will stop me from
crashing into it!

Paul

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 10:40:10 +0100, "Paul \( Skiing8 \)"
wrote:

Hi

I googled but couldn't find anything tht really matched my question.

I have a new townhouse (3 years old) that has an integral garage and
driveway that is big enough for one car. next to the drive is a flaged path
and then a small patch of grass (about 1.5m wide by 4m long). My idea was to
convert the path and grass to another parking space. The only problem is
that there is a lamp post at the bottom of the garden so access to the new
space would be only available when there was not another car in the existing
drive. Contacted the council about a possible lamp post move but they have
not adopted the street along with the lights yet. So contacted the developer
who is currently responsible, They said they would not move it as it was
already agreed by planning as the location of that lamp post. They then went
on to say that our house only had planning for a single drive. That was it,
end of story as far as they were concerned.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? I am not too worried about the
lamp post, that can stay if it cannot be moved but I cant believe I cant dig
up some grass and replace it with say concrete (not that I would). Other
people have done their gardens, ie. rockery, all gravel, trees and shrubs.
Spoke to the neighbors about doing it and they think it is a great idea
because it saves parking one car on the street, and the current flag/garden
does not look pretty anyhow. Would probably block pave it so would look 10
times better. Various people(not experts) have suggested I go ahead and do
it anyway.

What do you think?

Paul


There was a guy on "grand Designs" who just moved a lamp post one day,
no paperwork, no permaission, no ask council

As they say at work, "its easier to ask for forgivness than
permission"

Rick

Paul ( Skiing8 ) wrote:
"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...
"Paul ( Skiing8 )" wrote:
The thing that I find really daft about the whole thing is that if
I had the
extra space then our two cars would be parked on them, instead of
one of the
cars being left in the street.... the street is already packed with
cars in
stupid spots so it is not like it is going to be an eyesore or
anything to have two cars parked instead of a small patch of grass.

That's true in your situation, because of the lamppost, but if
you were to get the lamppost moved and drop the kerb all
the way across, then you would be removing a bit of 'street'
parking and replacing it with your own. At the moment
anyone can park in front of that lamppost, but only you can
park on your garden.

I can't see there being much of an issue if all you are doing is
'widening' your drive and leaving the kerb and access as it is.

Al



Ahhhh, I kinda missed a vital bit of info

The whole street/close/cul-de-sac whatever you want to call it is
block paved and the curb is not really a curb, it is uniform wether
it is a drive or not. And nobody can park in front of my little bit
of garden(its only wide enough for a car widthways) in front of the
lamp post because they would also have to block my drive and it would
also block others in (I cannot also park in from of it and my drive
because of this).

If I was to get the lamp post removed then the curb would not have to
be altered at all because it is exactly the same as in front of the
drive. In fact this is a good thing as I sometimes have to reverse
over over the flagged path and a bit to the side to get out the drive
if there is another car parked across the way. when I do this I am
only inches from the lamp, this could be another good reason for
removing it.... will stop me from crashing into it!

Paul

How about getting a mate with a Volvo to accidentally reverse into it whilst
turning around.... Never know, you may succeed in getting it
re-instated in your preferred location. Oink-oink-flap-flap.

David

Rick wrote:

As they say at work, "its easier to ask for forgivness than
permission"

You work for the US Navy?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l... s&btnG=Search

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 21:23:24 GMT, John Stumbles
wrote:

Rick wrote:

As they say at work, "its easier to ask for forgivness than
permission"

You work for the US Navy?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l... s&btnG=Search


This phrase is in use most in the US office .........