Above ground swimming pools

[sidd]

There seem to be a lot of above ground pools on sale (mostly made by Intex), and looking at some of the prices, they are very tempting. As they are highly temporary - indeed designed to be taken down entirely for the winter, I think they don't require planning or LBC. Can anyone comment on that?

I can see why they could be considered more obtrusive than a normal swimming pool, but they are as removeable as a trampoline - and about as pretty too.

 

[Pford75]

As I understand it, if the pool is connected to a fixed water supply (some are capable of 'topping themselves up' and it is heated in any way...it may be considered a 'structure' - even if it is possible to dismantle it. If it is freestanding, with no plumbing and electrical connections, I don't believe it would be subject to any planning restrictions.

You should note however, that anything which can be classed as a 'nuisance' may be subject to enforcement by the LA...so always better to site it somewhere where it won't annoy the neighbours

 

[sidd]

That's very interesting. It would have a pump, but I guess that if that is something that is plugged in rather than wired in, then there shouldn't be a problem.

And yes good neighbourliness is tricky.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Flyfisher]

A friend of mine has one that he 'puts up' every year. If it's the same thing, it's a metal frame and a big liner about 4 feet deep and quite portable when packed away. I'm pretty sure that my friend has never applied for planning permission and I don't see why it should be required. Anyway, what's the worst that could happen? Any problems and you just take it down leaving no trace whatsoever.

Just one word of warning though - my friend only has space on his lawn, and it kills all the grass stone dead!

 

[alice]

My next door neighbor has a swimming pool that I guess you'd classify as semi-permanent. It's an open metal scaffolding structure with a huge plastic bladder inside, much more substantial than the older sheet tin models I remember as a kid. His is 5-6 feet deep and a good twenty feet across and 15 feet wide (oval shape) He's built a concrete and sand pad for underneath and a deck all around the outside. It has permanent plumbing and electricty.

He leaves it up year round, and it doesn't seem to me to be a structure that you could easily take up and put down every summer. It took him a week to get it installed, and that was after the pad, etc, was put in.

We don't need planning permission here in Texas, but I'm sure such a structure would need it in the UK. The reason people put up above ground pools here is because 1) we're on rock and blasting even 5 feet deep is very expensive (no basements here, either) and 2) a pool lowers the value of your house, so if you want to resell you need a way to get rid of it.

alice

 

[sidd]

Yes the grass will be toast... so to speak, I might have to be quick with some seed in the autumn if I want any greenness at all over the winter.

This could be popular with the children.

There are some really big ones, like 32' x 16'! but the bigger I get, the more it costs to fill and re-seed...

 

[alice]

The ground under the pool bladder will compress under the weight of the water. You'll have to do more than scatter some seed after you pack up the pool, you'll need to aerate the soil.

Do you have insurance rules regarding pools in the UK? We have rules here that a pool is "an attractive nuisance" and so must have means to prevent kids from getting in and using the pool unsupervised. Also, the liability insurance for homeowners is pretty stiff.

alice

 

[lindy]

We have been debating putting in a pool similar to the type you describe. I found the following link a few days ago which may be of help:

http://www.diydata.com/planning/planregperm/planning_rules.php

Cannot say how accurate this information is but i like what it says

 

[sidd]

Alice, safety is pretty important and needs to be thought through carefully as you say. As far as I know, the UK rules are fairly relaxed, so IMHO one needs to use common sense over and above legal reqirements.

There's the insurance companies who might try to scare you to sell you extra policies. There's pretty draconian legislation in some countries, like France, which requires you to have a pool fenced in. But to be honest, that's not such a bad idea when you have an in-ground pool. An above ground pool is harder for children and animals to get into, providing the external steps are removeable and the internal ones are left in.

Lindy: That sounds good but I'd be very surprised if the Listed Building people didn't have some jurisdiction over built-in pools. Although in reality, I think it's my neighbours who need the most PR, and providing the Pool isn't pig ugly, the rest should fall in place.

One reason I'm looking at an above ground pool is that it's a good way to test the water with the neighbours - to see if we can keep the children to considerate noise levels and timings. If not I'll just have to dream about building an indoor pool so no one can hear the noise.

 

[Penners]

I'd be very surprised if the Listed Building people didn't have some jurisdiction over built-in pools.

Isn't there a requirement to apply for LBC for any structure that affects the view of a listed building from a public right-of-way? I'm not sure, but I have vague recollections of some such thing.

 

[sidd]

Sounds plausible.

In any case, a proper pool done properly would need a wall and gate, as well as some sort of building. So I don't think there's much point trying to skimp on the permissions.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I'd be very surprised if the Listed Building people didn't have some jurisdiction over built-in pools.

Isn't there a requirement to apply for LBC for any structure that affects the view of a listed building from a public right-of-way? I'm not sure, but I have vague recollections of some such thing.

No there isn't.

LBC is only for works directly to the listed building, or to a structure within its curtilage which dates from before 1 July 1948.

Some works within the curtilage which would be permitted development if the building was not listed may require Planning Permission, and the effect on the setting of the listed building would be a material consideration in determining such an application.

 

[sidd]

Gareth, Your statement is so simple and clear that it makes me curious why my CO is requiring me to get him to pass things like a new site for an oil tank. I've taken the approach of asking his advice on things like that, but the answers tend to be phrased along the lines of: "..you can't do this or that".

Does this mean that oil tanks are entirely outside the scope of LBC?

 

[Penners]

Perhaps it depends on the tank.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Gareth, Your statement is so simple and clear that it makes me curious why my CO is requiring me to get him to pass things like a new site for an oil tank. I've taken the approach of asking his advice on things like that, but the answers tend to be phrased along the lines of: "..you can't do this or that".

Does this mean that oil tanks are entirely outside the scope of LBC?

Assuming it's a free-standing tank, then yes, it's not an LBC issue - but it may well need planning permission by virtue of being in the curtilage of the listed building (this isn't the same thing as curtilage listed), because of the reduced permitted development rights appertaining to LBs. If this is the case, the effect on the setting of the LB will probably be the priciple consideration.

BTW, I do hope I'm not your CO? This is starting to sound familiar...

 

[Nemesis]

It's the 'you can't do this or that' which is sounding familiar I reckon...


;-)

 

[sidd]

Well if your name is Gareth Hughes, then you are most definitely... not my CO! And the vagueness of the stuff about curtilage is almost comfortingly familiar. ;-)

I've found a site for it that will fulfil my understanding of building regs and also allow me to hide it completely in quite a large flower bed, subject to a bit of gardening work. It'll be big, and it will need a concrete bed. I may also need a separate site for the Aga tank, but I don't want to have to raise up the main tank to Aga heights when I can have a smaller more discreet one raised up a bit nearer to the Aga, or a lift pump.

 

[Penners]

It's the 'you can't do this or that' which is sounding familiar I reckon...


;-)

Well, we can tell he's not your CO - cheeky!

 

[Nemesis]

No he's not more's the pity!