Ramp Entrance to new houses

[david]

talking of the planning deciding EVERYTHING about your house......
just recieved a letter today
(house is now 2 years old)
telling me our planning permission does not include landscaping! ie: my garden!!
of course the plot is ours, and on the planning etc,
but we now have to get planning of landscaping so we can have grass etc!!!!
so in submitting the new plans,
i have to mark every plant planted with a colour key code as to what type of plant/tree it is!!!
and it has to be something "natural" to our environment.
i was also told that they "suggest" i plant hedgerow all round as you need to have a "proper" barrier around your plot,a fence doesnt count!and i'm not allowed to plant anything within 3 metres from the road for visability.

have you ever heard the likes?!!!

tell you what council planning office......you wanna come decorate the house for me too eh!!!!!

Thats unbelievable! Sure its not a wind up?

[annemarie482]

fraid not
i have here a letter from the council.
and i phoned the planning officer it came from to which he told me the details.
what a joke eh?!!

[david]

fraid not
i have here a letter from the council.
and i phoned the planning officer it came from to which he told me the details.
what a joke eh?!!

So what happens with the completion certificate then? Can hardly believe this nonsense. You sure Mconnachies not been up to his old tricks!

[annemarie482]

lol david!!
the house is done and dusted, signed off the lot.
i can hardly belive after this long they can ask for this!
they wanted me to put in a new planning application (which i refused to do!) and are now allowing me to "add" to our original plans.
i know this is the case for new builds now but thought we'd have been told about it when we started planning if this would affect us back then.
sneaky stuff
anyway i've done the plan now and will put it in monday.

[david]

lol david!!
the house is done and dusted, signed off the lot.
i can hardly belive after this long they can ask for this!
they wanted me to put in a new planning application (which i refused to do!) and are now allowing me to "add" to our original plans.
i know this is the case for new builds now but thought we'd have been told about it when we started planning if this would affect us back then.
sneaky stuff
anyway i've done the plan now and will put it in monday.

Can't really see how all this works though, so you plant all these local species and then someone gifts you some exotic species from Durness, do you just bin it? I get the bit about the distance from the road but the rest seems daft. I can't see how they can ever police it.

[annemarie482]

i dont think they will police it ( i hope) i think you just have to have it on the plans.
to be honest i think it's so if your gardens a tip they can come out with their wee book of planning permission and force you to do it up to match.

[david]

i dont think they will police it ( i hope) i think you just have to have it on the plans.
to be honest i think it's so if your gardens a tip they can come out with their wee book of planning permission and force you to do it up to match.

Still a load of old Bhudlias!

[pat]

Wonder what would happen if I bought your house and did not keep the garden as per your design - wonder what the council and planning could do or would do?
I have changed every garden area where I have lived - same as you change decor I think, your plans are not to everyone elses liking.
I know what I would be telling them if they came near me after house planning and buildings had all been passed - take a long hike off a short pier, you had your chance of doing your job correctly, the house has been passed - tough.

[david]

Wonder what would happen if I bought your house and did not keep the garden as per your design - wonder what the council and planning could do or would do?
I have changed every garden area where I have lived - same as you change decor I think, your plans are not to everyone elses liking.
I know what I would be telling them if they came near me after house planning and buildings had all been passed - take a long hike off a short pier, you had your chance of doing your job correctly, the house has been passed - tough.

Valid point.

[annemarie482]

Wonder what would happen if I bought your house and did not keep the garden as per your design - wonder what the council and planning could do or would do?
I have changed every garden area where I have lived - same as you change decor I think, your plans are not to everyone elses liking.
I know what I would be telling them if they came near me after house planning and buildings had all been passed - take a long hike off a short pier, you had your chance of doing your job correctly, the house has been passed - tough.

totally agree pat!!!
ridiculous.
it's like they were trying to get extra money out us for re-doing the planning permission.
a big fail then :L
wonder if anyone else has recieved a letter about this?

[annemarie482]

maybe if someone complained your garden was a mess they'd come in waggling the landscaping plan under your nose forcing you to fix it pat?! i've no idea.

if they are going to force us to put hedging around the plot then i reckon they should supply some funding towards it!!!
as we all know plants certainly aren't cheap let alone over half an acre's edging to fill in!!

[pat]

Does not say how big the hedging has to be - you can cut leaf size cuttings and wait for them to grow!
You have still planted a hedge.
If they want to take it further ask for funding as you complied with the planning permission granted at the time of building - their mistake, you are bending over backwards to help THEM rectify THEIR mistake so if they want a large hedge they will have to pay for it!!!!
They will then complain in a couple of years time of the hedge being too tall - you have to cut it to give clear road view access.
I would definitely tell them to stuff it - you have had it passed, end of story.

Time the council got some of its own areas into order first before hounding folk who did accordin g to their wishes at the time.

[crofter]

talking of the planning deciding EVERYTHING about your house......
just recieved a letter today
(house is now 2 years old)
telling me our planning permission does not include landscaping! ie: my garden!!
of course the plot is ours, and on the planning etc,
but we now have to get planning of landscaping so we can have grass etc!!!!
so in submitting the new plans,
i have to mark every plant planted with a colour key code as to what type of plant/tree it is!!!
and it has to be something "natural" to our environment.
i was also told that they "suggest" i plant hedgerow all round as you need to have a "proper" barrier around your plot,a fence doesnt count!and i'm not allowed to plant anything within 3 metres from the road for visability.

have you ever heard the likes?!!!

tell you what council planning office......you wanna come decorate the house for me too eh!!!!!

Yes I have heard the likes as I've been targeted too!!!
My house was built just after yours and I got one too. Seemingly there's a door in my garage that's not on their plan(but it's on mine and stamped in their office 24.06.08) and that's classed as breach of planning. I am not maintaining the tarmac driveway yet I've only been in the house 10 months. They want me to cut the field strainer to 0.9m in height so it doesn't block my visability yet I've been coming out of the same driveway for 29 years and never had a problem. There will be major problem when the cattle step over the fence because its too low. My planning also stated that I required a drop kerb at the road but the building contractors were told at the time "not to bother with it" with result stones and surface water is coming into the driveway and that is also a problem now. Likewise I have to apply for planning permission for landscaping yet mine is natural to my environment, the same grass which is growing at the other side of the fence. I don't want hedges, plants etc so why should I have to have them? Got 28 days to get plan in or enforcement notice going to be served on me! Makes you wonder was it worth building, if I had time back would have stayed where I was!!!

[annemarie482]

i'm kinda glad to here we aren't the only ones crofter!! lol
what a joke eh?!
absolutely ridiculous. and believe me i made very clear to the planning officer my thought on the situation!!! lol
i'm yet to hear if they come back around to inspect the landscaping plans against whats actually there, would be interesting to know.
i reckon if they are going to enforce hedging they should either provide it, or help financially with buying it with a grand or such like.
i'm still annoyed that this is being brought up 2 years after planning consent etc.
are you having to pay for a new planning application? i stood my ground and refused, and we are being allowed to add a new plan to our existing plan free of charge

[annemarie482]

[QUOTE=crofter;835637]Likewise I have to apply for planning permission for landscaping yet mine is natural to my environment, the same grass which is growing at the other side of the fence. QUOTE]

that was part of my argument also!
i was told they dont want everyones gardens looking like another part of the field!!!

[Beat Bug]

I'm just glad that we finished building before all these new regulations came into force! We don't have a permanent ramp, but bought 2 portable ones through Motability, which the council accepted. They hang in the garage, and can come out for use as and when needed.
As for landscaping! I'd tell them where to go, unless they were going to maintain your garden for free!

[crofter]

i'm kinda glad to here we aren't the only ones crofter!! lol
what a joke eh?!
absolutely ridiculous. and believe me i made very clear to the planning officer my thought on the situation!!! lol
i'm yet to hear if they come back around to inspect the landscaping plans against whats actually there, would be interesting to know.
i reckon if they are going to enforce hedging they should either provide it, or help financially with buying it with a grand or such like.
i'm still annoyed that this is being brought up 2 years after planning consent etc.
are you having to pay for a new planning application? i stood my ground and refused, and we are being allowed to add a new plan to our existing plan free of charge

Funny you should say that as I thought it was me on my own being picked on and I felt better when I read your post. I sent him an email asking why the completion certificate was signed in Oct 2009 when the planning clearly stated that before it could be issued the drop kerb must be done and the garden landscaping must also have been passed by planning. He never answered why so I sent another asking again so he emailed me back to phone him. At the end of the day it was Highland Council who told the building contractor not to bother with the kerb and now that it's a problem it's my fault. Yes they are want me to pay for a new planning application but at least I know to do what you did and refuse.

[crofter]

[QUOTE=annemarie482;835777]

Likewise I have to apply for planning permission for landscaping yet mine is natural to my environment, the same grass which is growing at the other side of the fence. QUOTE]

that was part of my argument also!
i was told they dont want everyones gardens looking like another part of the field!!!

Different if we had built in a housing estate but at the end of the day we both built our houses in an agricultural field in the country with no immediate neighbours except cows and sheep and I'm sure they are happy with our gardens.

[roadbowler]

annemarie... well done for standing your ground. However, if the landscaping was not already included on your planning consent as a condition you DO NOT need to add anything! Planning permission is only required for "development".

"the use of any buildings or other land within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse as such does NOT involve development."

Frankly, I think they were trying to get you to give them money! You refused so, now are asking you to add a condition to a planning consent. eeehhhmmm, this is like buying a car, completing payment and two years later being asked for more money and you signing a piece of paper saying aye, I'll give you more money! The deal is done. They have a point about plantings close to a major road perhaps but they are still too late to impose a new condition and, as it says above they cannot require you to add anything to your existing permission in regards to what you do within the curtilage of your dwelling for your enjoyment. ie. garden!!! unless... you agreed to these conditions when the planning consent was first given! Ask them where in the legislation it says you must apply for planning permission for your garden of your dwellinghouse! They can't because it isna there! lol Then ask them if you are breaching a condition of your planning consent and ask if there is a clause in the consent that says they reserve the right to add conditions at anytime to your consent. If they canna, tell them tough cookies and remind them that making mischief in their contracts is an offence.

The only way a planning authority can of their own initiative impose conditions on the continuance of an existing lawful use of land is by way of a Discontinuance Order! Don't worry about that, they won't and canna do it over a hawthorn tree and a lawn. This is something they do to evict grannies from their homes to make way for swimming pools.

crofter - you didna get an answer to your question because completion certificates issued under building regulations have nothing to do with whether you have complied with all the conditions of your planning consent.

[crofter]

[crofter - you didna get an answer to your question because completion certificates issued under building regulations have nothing to do with whether you have complied with all the conditions of your planning consent.[/QUOTE]

Why when the planning permission states that the drop edge kerb is required before occupation of the property will be allowed.
You cannot occupy a new property without a completion certificate. The planning actually states that Highland Council must approve the landscape BEFORE any building can commence. Still don't see why it justifies ignoring my question would it not be proper procedure to answer exactly as you did?