I have never liked Rollercoasters. But that is what I am on, holding tight, closing my eyes & trusting that the whole structure won't collapse & send me flying into the abyss.
Dealing with the City Planning Department during Covid isn't easy. They have problems, mainly staffing issues I think. So yesterday afternoon I was on a high. An email from my lovely Architect finally came several weeks & several supposed dates late. I have got full planning consent. Huge relief. The groundwork for the extension can begin. Hopefully it will be quick to build. But that depends on whether we can get the contractors who do the specialist standing seam cladding in before Christmas.
Today my tree surgeon team arrived with 4 vehicles & a mass of kit to take down the huge Lime tree in the middle of the garden plus 3 smaller trees. I've waited for months, because they are really busy over the summer period & there are rules whilst birds are nesting. A neighbour apparently came round & told them there was a Tree Preservation Order on the Lime. She said she liked watching the birds, (there aren't any to see in the Lime it's too dense), & she didn't want to see my house. She lives at the back I think. Frantic phone calls to City Planning Tree Department by the main tree surgeon & me. Also a call to my solicitor, because I don't have any of the paperwork for my house because Land Registry have a backlog. The 2 planners dealing with TPO's are not in the office, they are out in the field so a really helpful lady left them both voicemails.
Both the tree surgeon & I were fairly sure there was no P O on the lime, but we couldn't take the risk. A long stressfull delay until we finally got the go ahead. Huge relief, again. When they started work they discovered, as we expected that the whole of the middle of the tree was rotten. Lime's are very prone to that. So it was a disaster waiting to happen.
Meanwhile I feel shredded. This is a big undertaking, requiring a lot of time & effort. Nothing is going smoothly.
By the time I move in I think everyone involved will feel a huge sense of relief & achievement.
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