Our House Building Project

We decided to build our own, at the bottom of the garden. Well we had the space. First job was to get an architect after we messed about for a few months drawing rough plans of what we wanted.  It was to have been a bungalow but the plot is a tad narrow for all the space we need. So we decided on a dormer bungalow but felt getting planning permission was a pipe dream.  Anyway the architect duly arrived and measured up. A  month later he sent us the plans. Not quite what we asked for but what he thought we should have. The plans went back. New plans arrived much nearer to our requirement and acceptable. In went the plans. After the estimated 8 weeks we were told that objection was so high that it would have to go before the full planning committee. Another 8 weeks passed and BINGO we got planning permission. We are now at the point where we naively thought we would be in our new home. Now we have to wait another 8 weeks for the building regulation plans to be drawn up and submitted. Groan groan. Meanwhile two doors away a dormer bungalow has appeared in the bottom of someone else's garden. I decided to ask the builder for a look around the half finished home. I went into it's dormer bedroom and my heart sank. How can I sleep in this I thought. Where could I put a wardrobe? At present we're not sure whether to go ahead or just sell the plot with planning permission. Watch this space.

   December 17th 2003. The proposed plot. Our rear boundary finishing just in front of the bush on the right. The front facing the house you can see in the distance. Photograph taken from patio of our current house.

April 1st 2004. Well it's been a year now since the first plans were submitted. We still don't have the building regulation plans passed, it's a waiting game. However, always optimistic we have started clearing the plot.

June 22nd 2004. Building regulations have been granted subject to an engineers report. Cannot get access to existing sewers because the persons opposite won't allow access to their gardens wherre the sewer is. They all objected to the plans anyway, so what could we expect. The builder who is building 2 doors away got a quote for a new sewer. £15,000 is no joke. A contingency fund does not allow for that much!! So as of August 24th 2004 the final quote for the sewer is £25,000, gee whizz. Now the dilemma of whether to procede or not.

January 8th 2005.  Had a quote for building the house. Far too much in our present domestic circumstances so the plot has gone up for sale.

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