Planning Permission Tips UK - Off Road Car Parking - What Value - Do You Need to Apply for Planning
December 29, 2006
Isn’t it a shame that for most folk, taking a holiday means moving en-mass with millions of other people also doing the same thing! Long journeys, loads of bodies at airports & long traffic queues in humid conditions - why do we do it?
Strange thing is, - do we ever notice any easier parking provision in our towns & cities while all these people are travelling away from home to these holiday locations? I haven’t.
For a great many of us (myself included), street parking outside ones own home is getting to be a bit of a luxury these days. Those properties with well designed highway access & off road parking have a definite added value element to their homes that will be of even greater value as the years proceed.
Therefore, any property without the facility for off road car parking may be seriously less desirable in 5 years time for example. There is also a ’sustainability’ element that conflicts with this desire for people to park their 4 wheel ‘designer badge’ off the road. I guarantee you will not see many late model Merc’s BMW’s or other german machinery parked in the gutter these days. Many Planners would have you believe that we are unable to sustain this level of car dependency but even if petrol went up to £10 a gallon, most people would rather starve than not put juice in the car to get us around - it’s a freedom thing!
Planning Permission UK - Tactics if Appealing to the DOE for a Planning Refusal
December 29, 2006
Tactics of Appealing to the DOE - There will be times in any Design Agents career when a clients scheme will be refused Planning Permission. Fortunately, our experience is now at a point when we can normally forecast these schemes & steer the client away from that design solution. Clients that wish to pursue these contentious schemes are at least forewarned of the likely outcome so that we can formulate a ‘plan of attack’ for the next phase of the extension or development. Many clients seem to want to drive head first to the Appeal route directly after refusal - IN MOST CASES THIS IS NOT A WISE DECISION & IT CAN AFFECT THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT VIABILITY OF YOUR SITE.
Now many of us ‘Agents’ have varying views on this mainly because many Agents specialise in appeal work & it amounts for a large proportion of their fees - these agents would have you appeal ing at the drop of a hat. I can only speak from my own experiences & DOE appeal results. It should always be remembered that the national average on appeal success is still only around 30%. In other words the odds of winning are always against you to begin with.
What Not To Wear
December 28, 2006
What makes certain styles of pants so popular? One reason is fashion and the other comfort. Two examples of pants bought for comfort are tapered leg jeans or pants and Capri pants. Younger women flock low-rise jeans because they are fashionable. Both Capri pants and low-rise jeans look best on tall, slim silhouettes - how many ‘real’ women are tall and slim? The truth is that the majority of the female population does not have ‘Barbie’ figures so those styles instead of looking great actually accentuate flaws.
To look your best take your body type into consideration before choosing to wear the latest fashion. You will appear slimmer and more fashionable if you wear clothing that suits your body type. Lets look at cropped pants, low-rise jeans and high-rise tapered jeans and decide what to wear and what not to wear.
Cropped pants (pedal pushers, Capri, clam diggers) end usually somewhere in-between the knee and the ankle, What they do:
* Make you look shorter
* Make you hips look larger
* Your legs look shorter
* Your ankles thicker
However, some of these problems can be avoided depending on the style of Capri pant. Capris that are the best choice:
Planning Permission Tips UK - Pre-application Enquiries to the Council - Is the Delay Worthwhile?
December 28, 2006
The holiday season is now in full swing & for about the next 6 weeks we tend to see a noticeable downturn in the level of new enquiries which I think is pretty much typical amongst most services. This, for us, is a time when we normally attend to the updating & improvement of our internal administration, so the forecasted lull over the coming weeks will be put to good use. The strange thing is that your Local Planning Departments tend to cite the opposite & correspondence suddenly goes unanswered or the Case Officer dealing with your application is off yet again on another 3 week jaunt.
So, is it worth contacting the Planning Department for an Officers opinion on your scheme prior to submitting a formal application when their response times are getting seriously worse as each year passes? Well like all things it depends on a lot of variables.
From simple observations & anecdotal evidence, I would say that the ordinary householder has a distinct response time advantage over professional Agents in this respect when writing or contacting the Council. I can only assume that the ‘general public’ are easier to deal with & satisfy than ‘Professional Agents’ who often require a far higher level of detail & concise opinion from the Case Officer rather than the wooly explanations they usually offer simply quoting policy reference numbers that you should be adhering to.
Making The Most Of Your Smart Decision To Hire An Interior Designer
December 28, 2006
So you’ve decided to hire an Interior Designer-good move! Now what? Before you start planning your "reveal" party, you’ll need a basic understanding about the process to ensure that you get the most design for your dollar and that you have a fun and fabulous experience, no matter what type of project is ahead of you.
You’ll need to learn the basics of choosing the right design professionals, establishing a budget, outlining the details of the contract, considering your lifestyle and communicating your challenges.
Choosing the Right Designer: Beyond the Portfolio
Professionally trained Interior Designers have undergone extensive training in the various elements of modern and historical design, art and architecture. They have a basic foundation of knowledge that allows them to develop concepts in a variety of styles that range from traditional, contemporary, art deco, eclectic-or a combination of several styles.
That being said, not every designer’s talent is right for every project. For yours, you’ll want to choose someone whose portfolio "speaks" to you in a positive way. As with every profession, designers tend to develop personal styles that carry over into their projects. It could be the sense of clarity and order you see in the furniture arrangements, or maybe it’s a color palette that’s used in a unique way. It could be the modern touches worked seamlessly into a roomful of antiques, or the interesting textures of the fabrics.
Interest Only Home Loan ? Is It Right For You?
December 28, 2006
There are many benefits to interest-only mortgage loans. There are many situations where an interest-only mortgage loan could be best for you.
Here are some of the situations where an interest only mortgage loan might be beneficial to you:
1. If you are in a situation where your income is sporadic and would rather have the option of paying as little as possible sometimes and then paying larger amounts when there is more income, for example, a real estate agent or loan officer.
2. If you are investing your mortgage payment savings in something else that is low risk, and has a much higher return on your money than your house payment.
3. If you are temporarily in a situation where your income will be low for a while but then increase later on.
4. If your mortgage is only temporary, for example, an investor looking to flip a property or someone who is working on a fixer upper. It would be good in any situation where it would be in your best interest to keep the payment low as opposed to creating equity in the home.
Planning Permission Tips UK - Loft Conversions in UK Properties - Do They Add Value?
December 27, 2006
We get a great many requests to view the potential of Loft conversions. This type of extension has remained fairly popular since I first started designing property & is perhaps even more in demand now than ever before - especially in dense urban areas where the alternative choices for that fourth bedroom are somewhat limited.
Now, the popular press would have you believe that they do not add value or have limited appeal. However, that blanket broad brush, slightly disrespectful opinion does not ring true for most of our clients. So what is going on? As always, the devil is in the detail - the detail in this respect is mainly focussed on two primary areas:
1. DESIGN and 2. DESIGN.
It’s just like the location, location location slogan for house values & desirability. Fortunately, the planners have got to grips with a lot of loft conversions these days & they now have a great more control of schemes that a few years ago could have been built under Permitted Development. This means that they have encompassed ‘good design guides’ in an attempt to stamp out the ugly full width box dormer that turned a beautiful victorian semi into a something that looks like a car sized packing crate trying to escape from a neighbours roof.
About Hummingbirds and How to Attract Them to Your Garden
December 27, 2006
Visualize watching a bright green hummingbird in your garden moving from flower to flower in search of the tasty nectar within. These beautiful and tiny birds weigh about 2 to 20 grams and are found in a wide variety of environments from the high Andes to lowlands, and from dry desert areas to rainforests. They have slender beaks, extensible tongues, ten primary feathers, and tiny feet suitable for perching but not walking.
Hummingbirds can fly straight up, straight down, backwards, left, right, and even upside down. While most birds obtain their flight strength only from the down stroke, hummingbirds have power on the up stroke as well.
Most hummingbirds flap their wings about fifty times a second and have a very fast heartbeat and high body temperature. They feed every ten minutes or so throughout the day and typically consume two-thirds of their body weight in a single day. Their source of nutrition is primarily nectar from flowers, as well as sources of protein from insects and tiny spiders.
House Plans ? Research Is Key
December 27, 2006
When you think about building your new home consider your needs and your lifestyle. If you are newlyweds your choices will be different from a couple who is ready to retire and is looking for a smaller home. The lot may affect the type of house and its placement.
If your lifestyle is such that you plan to entertain frequently, you might want to consider including a formal dining and living area that is separated from the family’s living area. If you just plan on having a couple of friends over for a dinner and conversation, then you might want to eliminate the formal dining area and create a simple dining area that can be used by your family and your guests.
Is your lot large enough to allow you to build your house and still be able to expand in the future? Will you need an extra room for guests or extra living space for aging parents or future additions to your family? It is imperative that you keep all of these possible concerns as you choose your lot and your house plan.
House Plans ? Where To Start
December 27, 2006
You have found the perfect lot on which to build your new home. Now you have an abundance of decisions to make. Where will the house sit on the lot? You will have to decide this based on the total square footage of the house. What kind of features are you hoping to have. These are the things to consider, storage, a laundry room, a home office, a bathroom downstairs, a full bath upstairs, and a family room.
Consider the future? Are you just starting out and planning a family? Do you need a guestroom for visitors? Flexible house plans are probably the best option for you. You don’t want your house to end being too big in the future. If it starts getting small, make sure you allow for expansion if necessary, and make sure it is according to your local zoning laws.
How does the house plan you have chosen fit on the lot? If the lot is deep and narrow you don’t want a shallow and wide house plan. Where will you place the house so that you get the maximum exposure to sunlight in the morning and in the evening? Make sure the windows are where they are supposed to be.
