And… *drum roll* … our planning application is approved *very happy dance*

It took 14 weeks in total from submitting the application and sending off the cheque to decision, most of this time was spent waiting for the application to be registered. Once registered everything went pretty quickly and it was around six weeks from registration to decision.  A round of applause goes to Innex Design, take a bow boys you did good, brilliant in fact!  

So now what?

Once you get planning permission the next question everyone asks you is “So when are you starting work?” Whoa there eager beavers, there is a whole heap of things to do before we can start in earnest in terms of digging foundations, there may be some phasing involved but we need to scope out the scale of the financial outlay and work out the funding. We have three years to start so the answer is in the next 36 months – I won’t be pressed on a date!

Now my head is swimming with how to make it happen – I am starting with a new notebook, obviously! Life is fundamentally just about finding opportunities to buy stationery, no?

Then some lists! I am such a girl!

I want to make a list of what we need to make decisions on, specifying and sourcing – none of this is even close to interior colour schemes or soft furnishings, still focussed on the functional – heating, lighting, glass etc not a cushion in sight … but if there was, just if there was I would pick these cushions coming soon to House of Nostalgia, just saying!

Back to the list of practicalities…

• Heating – rooms, water, underfloor, boiler, systems, wood burners, options?
• Lighting – where and what?
• Power & sockets – where and what? I despise wires and cables!
• Glass – doors, windows & roofs – I need this to require as little cleaning as possible!
• Flooring – what will keep the inside & outside connected / seamless?
• Doors – interior and exterior – open/close and/or sliding doors
• Room space planning – what’s going where? Especially needed upstairs
• Staircase – its not moving but its not staying either
• Phasing – any isolated projects? I want to do as much in one go as possible for minimal disruption

What have I forgotten? What else should be on here?

The big white elephant is of course the money, always the fly in the ointment! This has been made even more tricky by our household income changes that have seen Mr L join me in the land of the self employed. It’s another bridge to cross, we will cross it, when we get there but if anyone has found themselves in similar self employed circumstances and has any advice or recommendations I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

So that’s where we are, approved and working out what we need and how much it will cost – now its all about the detail, specifications and costings. Are you following our build? DO you supply products or services we may need? Get in touch, share your thoughts, experience, advice and lets connect!

So a quick recap, we sold our house and bought “the house that twitter built” in 2011. We spent six months settling, the next six finding the right architectural partner and the six months after that working with Innex Design the best way to develop the house and space we have. Happy doesn’t come close to how I feel about what our home will be like one day but we still have a long way to go and the next thing was to get the necessary planning permission so our application was submitted at the end of January and we waited … and we waited … and we waited some more … and then waited some more still… S L O W is an understatement, I’m sure they were being thorough *raises eyebrows*

I’m very methodical and with this project I am crossing the bridges in my head only when I reach them (otherwise I’d be at wallpaper, lamps & cushions) there’s no point working out the specifications and costs of the build until the plans are approved and there’s no point working out the finance until we know the specifications and costs. So that’s where we have been. Waiting for planning permission, so whilst we waited I took the opportunity to ask my architect, Chris Catelani of Innex Design my questions about planning and what was happening during this stage of our project and thought I’d share his answers for anyone in or embarking on a similar project.

Question 1: So we created our design and submitted the plans to the Local Authority, what happens during the planning assessment / approval process? What are these planners looking for / doing?

Chris Catelani, Innex Design: We submit the application online via the planning portal, which has some good interactive tools for people who don’t know if they need planning permission http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/ The council allocate themselves a 6-8 week time period to access the planning application, during this time the 1st thing they will do is send out letters to neighbours offering them the chance to comment on the proposals. They will then after 21 day consultation period consider neighbours comments and assess the application is in accordance with planning policy, the officer will visit the site to inspect the surroundings first hand and to determine if the proposals are detrimental to any neighbouring properties or objectors.

Question 2: We submitted our plans at the end of January how long should it take & when does the clock start ticking?

Chris Catelani, Innex Design: I don’t think this is an easy question to answer, the plans were submitted but the council are slow and took weeks to validate the application, the council have validation officers who check that the application form is complete, the fee is correct and the information submitted is correct i.e. site location plan of the property at the correct scales. Once validated the 6-8 week clock is ticking for a decision although some applications can take longer than the 8 weeks. Each council is different even though they follow the same policy.

Question 3: Applying for planning felt like a scary prospect but Innex Design have meant we haven’t had any contact – is that normal or are you just brilliant? Should a home owner or an architect handle the local authority?

Chris Catelani, Innex Design: To us its normal, if we are commissioned to provide architectural services for a domestic house extension we treat it the same as a million pound plus project. Our clients appoint us as professionals and we aim to deliver a professional service from start to finish, we hear of design practices who offer architectural services but wont deal with the council as it can be time consuming! we think its wrong, you wouldn’t get on a plane and fly it yourself, so why should the legalities of improving, what is to most people the most valuable asset they own be left to chance.

A decision was made on our planning application last week, the verdict is coming up in my next post here!

The fab team at Innex Design finished our house designs a couple of months ago, Mr L and I have been revisiting looking at them from time to time just to be 100% sure we haven’t missed anything.  We don’t think we have and I’m sharing the plans for a last sense check as we submit our application for planning permission this month.

So let me show you round and let me know your thoughts:

• Ground floor
• First floor
• Exterior elevations

Our extension is two storey so requires planning permission from East Cheshire, so what next?  Whilst that is going through the appropriate channels I am going to be having a look at some of the numbers, costs, budgeting and giving some thought to how we will fund and possibly phase the build.  Any tips anyone?  Please do share!

I don’t particularly want to phase the build, once we start I want to crack on right through to final finish but there are some things we need to do before we can start, for example a place to accommodate the contents of the existing garage before we can knock it down.  We are a long way from colour schemes, wall coverings and cushions however that said I will be spending most of my week looking at next week at the Interiors Show at NEC – you can never have too much inspiration too early I say!

Our home development is significant there is no denying that, having worked up the ground floor and first floor plans my ability to visualise what the actual house will look like is zero!  Luckily Innex Design know exactly how to help their clients see what home their designs will create.  So lets start at the front of with the current house as it is today:

From the front all the development is to the left, the elevation below unwraps the side of the garage which is along our boundary to our left hand neighbours so what is actually visible is the garage door and new window on the ground floor and two new windows on the first floor and lots of new roof, lets not forget lots of new roof!

Here’s the back on the ground floor the living room to the left, kitchen in the middle, back door and utility room to the right.

The proposed new rear elevation I am a lot in love with, I mean just look at it?

What can I say about the new look at the back of the house – bi-folds, bi-folds and another bi-folds – what’s not to love?  Well the cost I suppose but what price should you pay for making yours dreams a reality?  Well I’ll let you know!    

I’d love to hear what you think, any advice or any recommended suppliers – let me know your thoughts.

Here are the links to the proposed ground floor and first floor plans.

Currently at the top of the stairs the is a small 1m part of landing to our bedroom door with its “en cupboard”.  In the new design we move the door to be in line with the top of the stairs so the landing is integrated into the new bedroom when the “en cupboard” (it just has a sink & shower, not even a door!) will be extended to as en-suite with sink, shower &  WC.  This is a “jack & jill” en-suite which can be assessed from both this bedroom which will become Diva G’s and the spare bedroom.  I see doing this room as potentially being a stand alone project before we start the overall re-build.

The bathrooms have been the rooms we have played with most in the design and using the “Jack & Jill” approach has allowed all permanent residents to have their own en-suite, as well as the spare room as well as having a bathroom accessed from the landing.  The bathroom accessed from the landing is also accessed from Lil H’s bedroom which is created by lifting the roof over the existing WC and wardrobe storage area.  What is currently Diva G’s room is knocked together with the bathroom to create our fourth bedroom which shares the Jack & Jill en suite with her new bedroom.  The corridor between the fourth bedroom and Lil H’s en suite leads to our new master bedroom suite.

Our Master bedroom suite is all newly built above the new garage, dining and kitchen area. I can’t wait to retreat to this bedroom – I may even throw a cartwheel or two ’cause hey, I’ll have the room so what the hell!  But seriously how I plan this space I need to really think carefully about and I will be using hanging rails for a while before Rob Lancaster makes wardrobes.

There you have it four bedrooms, three bathrooms, want to check out the new elevations?