Demolish and rebuild
Demolishing a house to get to a plot makes economic sense, says Mike Dade
Whether you’re looking to build in a
built-up area or out in the countryside, planning policies generally allow you
to replace one house with another. With building plots hard to find in some
areas and especially so in the countryside, demolishing and rebuilding an
existing house is a great way to create opportunities for self-build. However,
planning policy can also be restrictive in terms of the scale, location or
design of the individual scheme.
You can sweep up both planning
permission to demolish (which is needed for houses) and permission for the new
house in one application. Don’t contemplate demolishing first, then applying to
rebuild: in the countryside, the existing house is the reason you can build a
new one – lose the existing house and you’ll potentially lose the right to
rebuild. So, what are the best ways to benefit from replacement opportunities
and how can you avoid the pitfalls?
Urban rebuild
In built-up areas, councils rarely
have planning policies that relate specifically to replacement of existing
houses. In practice, the same planning considerations that would apply to
building a new house apply to a replacement, namely blending with the character
of the area, preserving the amenities of neighbours etc. The exception is in
conservation areas where the demolition of any building requires specific
consent.
Planning policies continue to favour
making the best use of land for housing in built-up areas. The emphasis is on
building on so-called ‘previously developed land’. Any existing house and
garden falls within the definition of previously developed land and so, in
theory, councils should be supportive of schemes that make better use of such
sites. So, you might well be able to build a significantly larger house on a
plot, or even build two or three where there was one before. The potential
difficulty here is that councils might actually insist on two or more units in
preference to a single, larger replacement. This is especially true in town
centre locations.
A suitable house for replacement
might be a run-down property where replacement is the only economic way
forward; the odd house in the block, such as a bungalow in a row of two storey
houses, or a small house on a large plot. Economics tends to be the driving
factor; or you’ve got to buy cheap and add a lot of value to make the exercise
worthwhile. A good eye for property prices and market trends is invaluable in
spotting the best opportunities.
Rural rebuild
In the countryside, planning
policies are specifically designed to prevent building new houses. Exceptions
are houses needed to serve agricultural enterprises, conversion of existing
buildings, and replacing an existing house with a new one.
Rural policy
Planning policies vary from council
to council, but most do have a specific policy in their local plans or
new-style local development frameworks that sets out the circumstances in which
replacements can be allowed. Policies are inevitably more restrictive in areas
like national parks, green belt, and areas of outstanding natural beauty, and
remember you won’t be able to demolish and replace a listed building.
The big pitfall to avoid is buying a
derelict house that is too far gone to be considered suitable for rebuilding.
Where a house is little more than a ruin, and perhaps hasn’t been lived in for
decades, planners could decide that the residential use of that property has
been abandoned. If in doubt, check with the planners or take professional
advice before you buy anything really run down.
Policy restrictions
Typically, policies aim to ensure
that a replacement house is no more intrusive in the countryside than the
original dwelling. This is achieved by restricting the size of the new house,
controlling its position on the plot, and by ensuring the design is suitable
for a rural location.
Size restrictions vary: some are
quite vague, requiring the new house to be ‘comparable’ in size or ‘not
significantly larger’. Others are more specific, referring to percentage
increases in floor area or volume. Some refer to height, bulk and mass. The
golden rule is not to just check your local council’s policy but to talk to a
planning officer to find out how that policy is usually interpreted.
Position on the plot is also
approached in different ways. Some councils expect the new house to sit
literally on the footprint of the old, others allow some flexibility in
position and a few are open to the idea of moving the house to a better
position. Approaches to design are
similarly varied. You’ll find preferences for remaining in- keeping with local
styles, reflecting the style of the original house or preserving the character
of the locality.
Maximising opportunities
To maximise the size of your
replacement house, the key is to give the planners what they want – a new house
that isn’t significantly more obtrusive than the original, or even one that is
less obtrusive but actually much larger. There are several ways to achieve
this. The first step is to have a close look at the house to be replaced. How
does its height, bulk and appearance compare with the house you want to build?
If the new house is taller, bulkier or more prominent, there are a handful of
clever ways to reduce its impact, such as minimising the pitch of the roof to
lower the ridge height.
If the original house hasn’t been
extended in the past, then the chances are it could be now, taking advantage of
permitted development rights. Given that these can allow quite significant
additions to the original house, it is a useful bargaining tool where, for
example, the local council doesn’t want a new house to be any larger than the
original one.
Outbuildings are often taken into
account when calculating overall floorspace on the site. A garage within five
metres of the house would generally be counted as part of the house. Otherwise,
removal of garages, workshops, sheds and the like can be all offered as part of
your package of enhancements to the site.
Repositioning the new house can
reduce its visual impact, for example moving it farther from the road, to a
position that’s better screened by vegetation, or to a lower-lying part of the
garden. There could be a highway safety advantage to repositioning, or an
amenity advantage if an existing house relates poorly to a neighbour.
Repositioning also opens up the possibility of staying in the original house
while you build the new one. Most councils allow this, subject to suitable
safeguards to ensure you don’t end up trying to keep both houses.
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