Permissions, LBC and costly reports!

[Sonyaclegg]

Hi all,

I enquired with the CO about the erection of a dish having spoken to the PO about it. I have to submit an assessment regarding the impact of the dish on the house. I'm a little frustrated as we have provided two lengthy reports on the house.. The first was for the drainage works which required a watching brief for the excavations, then an assessment of what was unearthed and the subsequent report. The second was a historical building survey on an outbuilding that is falling down. I'm sure a condition of the removal of the outbuilding will be to have another watching brief whilst this work is being done. Once the plans have been drawn up for the garage, I'm sure a condition of the PP and LBC will be to have another watching brief present with a further report being submitted. Each report with a watching brief costs in the region of £1,500. As nothing has been discovered in the trenches dug near to the house, I want to submit an argument against a PP condition on the garage trench excavation for a watching brief and the submission of a report. We don't have limitless funds and the cost of the reports is eating away at the budget for essential works. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Penners]

Our last house was listed. When we moved in I erected a dish at the back of the house, about a metre above ground level. The CO subsequently visited us to discuss various plans that I had for the house - he saw the dish and didn't say a word.

As I understand it, a dish only becomes controversial on a listed building if it is (a) on the front of the house or visible from the street, and/or (b) if it breaks the roofline. If it's tucked discreetly away at the back, I don't think it becomes an issue.

 

[DJH]

Have you time to watch the box Sonya??

Doug

 

[Flyfisher]

As nothing has been discovered in the trenches dug near to the house, I want to submit an argument against a PP condition on the garage trench excavation for a watching brief and the submission of a report. We don't limitless funds and the cost of the reports is eating away at the budget for essential works.

Whilst I can see no harm in submitting such an argument, I have to say that an absence of anything interesting in one trench does not, to me, seem very relevant for what may be found in another one, so I'd be surprised if it was successful. Unfortunately, I wouldn't expect the archeologists involved (are these from the local council museum services?) to be particularly concerned with your budget.

What, exactly is involved in these 'watching briefs' and is there any scope for reducing the associated costs?

I know that a watching brief was put in place when a few houses were built near us but it wasn't raised during our recent extension works, so it's difficult to guess the criteria for deciding these things.

 

[Flyfisher]

As I understand it, a dish only becomes controversial on a listed building if it is (a) on the front of the house or visible from the street, and/or (b) if it breaks the roofline. If it's tucked discreetly away at the back, I don't think it becomes an issue.

That's also my understanding. Personally, I think that dishes (well, the small modern ones) are generally less intrusive than terrestrial aerials because they don't need to be mounted particularly high - hence Penners' point about breaking the roofline.

Is there a terrestrial aerial already installed on the house somewhere? If so, would it be possible to 'trade' that aerial for a small dish mounted somewhere less obtrusive?

 

[Sonyaclegg]

Doug, no! Not yet but we plan to. No sports on tv will make for an unhappy hubby.

There were 7 very long trenches dug during the septic tank and drain field work all close to the house in addition to the huge pit that was excavated to house the tank itself. Where we propose to site the garage is quite a distance from the house so I consider the likelihood of unearthing structural remains there is remote. I understand its not the most attractive argument but I'm trying to keep a hold on our budget. The archeologist would be on site for the digs which can be half a day or full days. That's £400 per day plus vat plus a day or more to compile the report. I have had two reports from a private company. They seemed the most reasonable around. I've asked them for a price on a submission to go with my applications for the dish so we will see what they come up with.

Thanks for the advice. We do have 19 chimneys to hide one behind so I think we will be ok! I'm doing some work up there tomorrow so I will try to take a photo of the chimneys. They are magnificent.

 

[Flyfisher]

I share your frustration. I feel the same about spending money on 'professional fees' when I'd rather spend it on the house but it's not always possible to do everything oneself. At least I've saved a fair bit by doing my own LBC submissions. Spending good money for someone to watch a hole being dug must be very frustrating - although don't forget that any gold hoards would belong to you (well, technically the Crown I believe, but you get paid for it all the same!).

Is it the local council that insists on this 'watching brief' thing? I suppose it could be worse - I've heard of people requiring bat surveys and even 'newt fencing' if the works are close to rivers or ponds!

The chimneys sound intruiging - pictures would be most appreciated. Don't forget that satellite dishes only require a clear line of site to the satellite and it makes no difference to reception if they're on the roof or on the ground, so they are far more versatile than a terrestrial aerial really.

 

[Sonyaclegg]

It's Greater Manchester Archeological Unit that require the reports after the local council consult with them. I do all the applications myself with the reports included. It's so frustrating but necessary. Having said that, the previous chap ignored all conditions to get the reports.....he wasn't pursued, but he did rescue the building from total ruin so they turned a blind eye. I have enough trouble sleeping with this project without thinking the listed building police will arrest me for non compliance with a planning condition. :roll:

 

[Keithj]

Is it also Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit who provide the hole-watching service? Nice little earner, if so.

We had a bit of that nonsense with the excavations for a French drain at the church. I suggested that we'd dig a series of graves instead (which we can do without any archaeological intervention). The issue went away. We've had to have asbestos, bat, and newt reports twice in the last three years - the approved format changed, and apparently the old reports were no longer in an approved format. Happily, the folks who did them didn't charge us the full whack to redo them. There were no bats first time, and you can be sure we took care that there wouldn't be any in future. The asbestos in the boiler room hadn't moved. This isn't ideal crested newt country, it seems.

When we bought this house, there was a satellite dish on a little pole, about 3 feet high, behind a tree in the back garden. With a clear takeoff to the sky in the relevant direction, that's as good as on the chimney. We removed it anyway.

 

[garnett]

Afternoon All.

I take a pragmatic view to Sky dishes. I tell applicants to use common sense and put it where nobody is going to complain to me. If they do the worst thing that can happen is that I tell them to take it away.

You do need to be aware of installers who only want to fit it a meter from the box to save time and money. Basically it needs to point SSE pointing up 45 degrees. There is a free phone app called satellite director that shows you the position of the Astra satellite in real time so you can find the best concealed location.

Good luck!

Garnett

 

[Penners]

This is a useful website:-

http://www.dishpointer.com/

You need to be looking at the Astra cluster at 28.2 degs E. Not only will you see which way your dish must point, but you can also get an idea of whether any nearby obstructions (buildings, trees, etc.) will block your line-of-sight. This is particularly important if you're thinking of mounting your dish at a low level.