Planning Consent & Tree Preservation Orders.

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.

Eco Warrior Failure - A tale of Woe

That's how I feel. I set out with high aspirations to refurbish my 1930's semi in as Green a way as possible. I'm a complete failure. 

Windows - What I wanted was sliding sash replacement windows in a modified softwood called Accoya. It's sustainable & really good. But it's also a lot more expensive that what I have bought, which is really good quality UPVc sashes. From the kerbside you won't be able to tell that they aren't wood, but that isn't the point.

Wall Insulation - What I was going to use was Pavatex wood fibre. But again the price has shot up because there is "A Severe timber shortage as ‘a perfect storm’ brings price hikes and delays" because of a surge in demand due to Brexit & Covid. It's now more than double the alternative. The underfloor insulation also looks as if it is coming in very expensive too. I haven't got round to the loft insulation yet.

Heating - I was seriously considering a heat pump instead of a combi gas boiler & did my research. I can't have a ground sourced heat pump because I don't have enough land for the collector loop, which is laid horizontally in a trench about a metre or so below ground. Where there isn't room to do this, you can drill vertical boreholes to extract heat from much further down, typically between 90m and 160m deep. It's significant, costly, disruptive work in the garden. A 6-8 kW horizontal ground source heat pump system usually costs around £10,000 to £12,500 to install. A larger 12kW heat pump system would cost around £15,500 to £17,500 to install. I simply can't afford to do it. 

Air source heat pumps are cheaper, but they are noisy & UK houses, not insulated to high enough standards, are not kept wam enough in winter.

It's a no brainer. I am having a gas boiler. I won't live long enough to get the financial benefit from the technology & the government have withdrawn the Green Deal financial support.

I don't expect the Government to foot the bill for my project, but as a member of Greenpeace & several other Eco charities, I know how important this is. We need to be doing this now. But the public won't do it unless they are helped with incentives of some sort. There is a limit to how much extra cost an individual household can absorb, however high their ideals. 

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development in September 2020, " a majority of people across Britain support an ambitious transformation of the United Kingdom into a greener, fairer, and more equal society. The assessment is based on an extensive inquiries by a cross-party group of MPs, which involved over 55,000 people through representative polls, workshops, and telephone conversations". Covid triggered a widespread desire for change. There is plenty of evidence that a Green economy will benefit the whole country. But it won't happen on it's own. It needs political will & Government commitment.

So I have failed & I'm really dieappointed. I just don't have a bottomless pit of money. The good thing, if I can afford it, is that I might have a resin bound, permeable, gravel driveway that uses recycled plastic drinking straws.

This Government has failed me & everyone else too. To quote Greta Thunberg  “Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.”

 https://www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/videos/1033097317441254

We don't have long to sort this out. There have been plenty of warning signs. We are hosting Cop 26 in a month's time. I don't know how our Cabinet have the cheek to do it. 

 

But I am so disappointed with myself personally too. 

 

Communication

We assume that because we can think & speak we have the tools to communicate effectively. Communication skills & understanding are really important in all aspects of our lives. We are lucky that we have communication tools which were not available for the majority of our lives. I must have been in my 20's before my parents even had a landline!

Managing my renovation & extension has made very clear that there is huge variation in how effective communication is. Yesterday was a case in point. Planning consents were expected in late August, early September. It was delayed to Wednesday 22nd this week, because of staffing issues. It didn't come. It is holding up a lot of the work. We can't risk starting before we have it, even if it is permitted development. 

I spent all day yesterday trying to communicate with the city planning department by phone & email. My builder wasn't sure what he can do & thinks he has done everything he can stripping out & first fixing in the actual house. I spoke to 3 different people, all of whom tried to be helpful, but none of whom actually knew anything about the application. The officer who dealt with it is on leave & no one else was appointed to cover this work. I find that amazing & frankly unprofessional. So we are in limbo until the officer returns & gets round to issuing my paperwork.

I have had a team of 4 professional people working on my project plus the 3 people actually doing most of the hard work. That meant that there needed to be effective lines of communication between them & me. It hasn't always worked & I have often felt I was fire fighting & acting as a relay. Sometimes I have been concerned that I don't have the skill set to really understand processes & technicalities. I have to rely on the people I have employed. They are all busy people & have other projects as well as mine. It can be a bit of a quagmire.

I also need to try to keep open good communication with suppliers, which is a real nightmare. There are huge supply & lead time problems. They are all struggling to cope with their supplers - it's a chain which is broken currently, due to Brexit & Covid.

Then there is the importance of keeping neighbours informed & on side, despite not living in the house. I'm not having to live with the noise, dust, traffic & disruption, but I do realise what an impact it must have. I'm a big believer in face to face communication. You can pick up body language & expressions & hopefully respond appropriately. Emails are quick & provide a paper trail, but can be misinterpreted. The receiver doesn't necessarily read what we intend when we write.

It's all hard work & exhausting. But I can go home to my rental, read a book, watch TV & unwind. I have a supportive daughter & family & I have lots of friends who are also interested & supportive. They all know what a huge task this is. They sympathise & encourage when things are not going well.

So, all in all, I am lucky.

Renovating & Building an Extension

Two of my previous homes have needed massive renovation. One needed a big extension simultaneously. My husband & I lived in both whilst the work was going on, which wasn't easy. But at least we were there every day to oversee the work & answer questions. Both houses were detached, both were in rural locations. So we didn't have to be too concerned about the impact on neighbours. Neither project went smoothly, but we were able to divide the work between us & share the ups & downs. Just as well as we were both working during the first one.

My current house is a completely different situation. It is a semi in an urban street. So there are neighbours all around who must be impacted by the builders. There are the vehicles & workmen. There is the noise & dust. Obviously the work only goes on during prescribed hours, but even so I can understand that it is disturbing.

So far my lovely builders have had to remove all the lime plaster on the interior of the 3 outside walls in order to insulate them. There is no cavity. Many interior walls & ceilings were still lath & plaster, so they also have to be stripped out & replaced. Some floorboards were rotten. The whole of the ground floor needs to be stripped out & insulated, then some rooms need the level raising so it is the same throughout. The wiring & gas pipework was all visible on the walls, so all has to be replaced. The water comes through lead pipes, which need replacing. Interior walls have to come down & new ones need to be built. It's noisy, dusty, filthy work. But the builders remain cheerful despite it all. Most of my neighbours are understanding & tolerant & I'm really grateful.

 

I'm finding it all quite hard now. It feels like a full time job. It's a combination of fire fighting problems, constantly chasing for fittings etc, trying to second guess which choices need to be made & getting quotes, driving back & forth to the site. I never know what each day will bring.

I seem to be transferring money out more regularly than ever before - It's a one way river. This is not a good time to be doing this. The building trade is suffering from a combination of the aftermath of Brexit & Covid. Both have made prices spiral out of control because of increased costs & shortage of materials. Lead times have increased because of delivery problems. Scheduling the work has become more dependent on outside circumstances than ever before.

This house could be a dream fulfilled for me. It could be "future proofed" for how ever many more years I have. I'm lucky to be able to buy a house with so much potential & be able to keep the best of it whilst bringing it into the 21st century. 

It is taking it's toll though. It certainly isn't easy. Think "Grand Designs" on a smaller scale. I need to keep the "vision" in mind on the really difficult days. 

I do just hope that it will be worth it all. 

Party Wall Problems

I had never heard of a Party Wall Surveyor. It is actually a fluke that I appointed one. I assumed that providing I had proper plans drawn up by my architect & had a competent & experienced builder things would go reasonably smoothly. After all, the plans for my Permitted Development would be submitted to the City Council & we obviously have to comply with Building Regulations. The work would be independently inspected.

I thought it was important to inform my neighbour what I was going to do early on, before work started. I realised that this amount of work would be disruptive. Not least because of the noise. But in the end, having a renovated, well maintained house next door is surely preferable to one that has had little or no maintenance for years. No one wants to live next to an overgrown garden & scruffy house.

Now I know more than I want to about Party Walls & the process involved. 

https://www.fmb.org.uk/find-a-builder/ultimate-guides-to-home-renovation/party-wall-agreements-what-you-need-to-know.html

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523010/Party_Wall_etc__Act_1996_-_Explanatory_Booklet.pdf

 

A Party Wall Surveyor (PWS) has to "serve" the neighbour with papers & plans outlining what is proposed. The neighbour can then do two things, accept or "dissent" the proposal. If the neighbour dissents they can then choose to have the original PWS represent the interests of both houses. Not both owners. The PWS should act in the best interests of the entire property not the people involved. Or the neighbour can appoint their own PWS. Many do, because they don''t understand the impartiality of the original PWS, or that they are then inflicting a substantial cost on the owner who is doing the work. In law, for whatever reason, the developing owner should pay the neighbours PWS costs.

This then moves the whole situation into an adversarial position & makes normal good neighbourliness difficult. 

Sometimes this happens because the neighbour is understandably anxious about what may happen to their house. However their rights are protected in law. A PWS acting for the owner will inspect & record the state of the neighbour's house before work begins. Then if there is any damage caused by the building work the owner will obviously have to pay.

Some neighbours see this as an opportunity to exploit the fact that the work is being done to put conditions on their acceptance of the work. Some of these are reasonable, some are not. Neighbours can be unreasonably pedantic. All the while the work is being delayed, plans have to be amended & costs to the owner increase.

The whole Party Wall situation is a minefield. Even PWS's think the legislation is poor. People don't like change & upheval, both can feel threatening. People nowadays are focussed on their rights. The days of accepting someones word, being generous & helpful, can seem very distant. Sadly, what might have been really friendly, neighbourly relations can become very strained. 

On the other hand Covid has shown just how neighbours co-operate, share, keep an eye on the vulnerable. Just simply, are good neighbours.

 

 

Kindness - Compassion - Empathy - Altruism

You can discover if you are Kind by doing the Kindness Test developed by Sussex University in collaboration with the BBC. Maybe you think you know yourself, maybe not.

https://universityofsussex.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1RYvaR5UA1czYvs

Or

https://www.testmykindness.org/ 

Or

https://www.kindnessuk.com/

What you possibly don't actually realise is how frequently people are kind to you & you are kind to others. It isn't something we think about enough. Kindness is possibly the most important human trait. Do we take it for granted & over estimate how kind we & others are?

What is kindness? Is it the same as compassion, empathy, altruism. Am I being selfless when I'm kind or do I benefit too? Am I kind enough - often enough? Do I accept kindness & value it. How much real kindness do I receive?

Is some kindness self seeking, superficial? What does it mean to be kind & put others first? Have we really become a self absorbed & selfish society, demanding instant gratification, focussed on our own rights without responsibility?

So many questions. Perhaps this research will give us some answers. At least someone is asking the right questions to find out rather than subjective perceptions or the view trumpeted by the mass media.

Renovating a House - Stripping Out

Things are finally really happening after 3 months of very little actual action. As I've mentioned, waiting isn't my forte. 

I have done quite a bit myself - Had a tree surgeon in to remove a huge Holly tree & Pyracantha blocking the light in the front garden, drastically pruned the front garden to give the hedge & shrubs time to put on new growth, finally found gardeners to do the rampantly overgrown back garden, arranged for a tree man to remove trees in the back garden in September, moved the gas & electric meters to the outside wall, done a plan of the lights & sockets needed, made a lot of decisions about fixtures & fittings...

It's good to have a project at my age. A plan for the future. Something to keep the brain working. A future proofed house that is fit for me if I last another 10 or more years.

It is quite hard not being in control, having to adjust to lead times, the city council Planning delay till the end of September adding a whole month, professionals being on holiday & finishing off other work, problems with my neighbour dissenting to my plans causing extra cost & changes...Par for the course, but exacerbated by Covid & Brexit. Costs are rising daily.

A friend I took round yesterday was simply horrified at the scale of what I'm doing.

Arriving at the house to find H working on her own, stripping out lime plaster & lath & plaster walls, in a house filled with dust was really exciting! I do admire how she calmly gets on with a filthy job. Then two men stripping out a ceiling. It's so interesting seeing the bones of the house. Quite frightening too - it doesn't look particularly stable!

I'm hoping that now work has really started things will move on daily. I should have a meeting with the builder & architect this week to iron out any issues & make sure we all know how things will proceed. I need a good idea of the schedule & a realistic proposed end date.

Although I'm 76 & have chronic health conditions I am not a pushover. I know what I want & the standard of build I expect. I will notice if little things are wrong. I don't tend to loose my temper, stamp my feet, shout & yell. In a way that's unfortunate, because people who do tend to get what they want quicker. I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. I trust the people I'm employing.

I just have to hope that trust results in a home I will love.