Council holding me up whilst roof leaking out of control

[pipsta]

Hi guys i have a leaking flat roofed doormer window which is making a lot of mess in the house. I would like to have the roof changed to a pitch roof rather than repairng the roof as this going to be the more reliable option. I have enquired at my local council if i need to apply for planning permission to change it and i have just had a letter back saying "sorry we are very busy at the moment and cannot look into it yet" no mention of time frames etc.

I need to get this sorted asap as water is comming through into the bedroom (a bucket full everytime it rains).

I have a builder over at the moment repairing the roof felt (house built in 1800's) and as he has the scaffolding up at the moment is going to be cheaper to get it all done at the same time.

I dont have loads of money so it is important to get this fixed as economically as possible.

I told the council my roof is leaking badly in my request but they have just fobed me off.

Where do I stand? as you can imagine I cant really wait a couple of months for them to pull their finger out as the roof is leaking so badly.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You are unlikely to require planning permission unless your house is listed or you live in a conservation area http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/projects/workcommonroof/ although like most of the PD rights it is not overly clear so you would be wise to seek confirmatio from the Planning Department.

I'm surprised the Council fobbed you off, did you email your query by any chance? If so there is no substitutre for the telephone. Ask to speak to the Duty officer.

 

[pipsta]

Yeah i filled in the online enquiry form. I mean how can they tell me they don't have time when my roof is p1$$ing in water for god sake! I have a building inspector coming out on wednesday to verfiy that the house is inhabital so I do not have to pay council tax whilst im renovating, ill ask them. I'm sure I will just get "sorry its not my department" as an answer though.

Cant afford to have it done at a later date when I will again have to pay for scaffold etc to be errected, skip hire etc etc + the roof is leaking badly as it is, a quick repair isn't going to do the job

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

No you won't, just pick up the telephone and speak to the planners they'll very likely be fairly helpful.

 

[peca27]

You are unlikely to require planning permission

Why? if you change the appearance of the building externally it'll generally require planning permission. Is this dormer on the front of the house or rear facing?

If it's on the front the Planning Dept. will be alot more concerned about it's appearance. In my neck o the woods they don't like pitched roof dormers generally. If you can fast track it + speak with the planner then good for you (good luck with Christmas coming up tho!!!). If you don't get any joy with them then........

I would look at the Planning Dept. 'Dormer Window policy' (if they have one it's usually found on their planning website). If it says no pitched roofs allowed, you will have to repair the flat roof fully - end of story. If it's a grey area, repair the flat roof. If it says pitched roofs can be allowed, then pitch a roof up + apply retrospectivley.

Don't leave yourself open to future problems / enforcement. A good flat roof can last years, it's not as if you only get 4-5 yrs out of them!!!

 

[DevilDamo]

You will be required to submit a planning application as in effect, you're increasing the volume of the building (i.e. creating space within the roof where there wasn't before). It seems as if the council are short staffed and are just about coping with current applications and do not have time to deal with customer enquiries or pre-application enquiries.

Your best bet would be to submit a planning application along with the fee and await a decision. At least that way, it's in the pipeline and you could then chase them for a decision as it's a registered application that they're getting paid for. But you could be waiting up to 8 weeks for a decision.

Or... you could carry out the roof alteration hoping a neighbour doesn't pick it up or a planning officer. If they do pick it up, they'll ask you to submit a retrospective planning application. Ok it's not ideal but at least your roof's fixed The worst case is they'd refuse it, which would mean you'd have to put it back to how it was.

Can you not just replace like-for like... i.e. replace the old flat roof with another?

 

[jeds]

It's unlikely you will need planning permission for this as it will almost certainly come under 'permitted development' rules. PD rules do change depending on the situation though so this needs to be confirmed for your particular case. If time is of the essence my advice is employ a local chartered building surveyor to advise you. Obviously make sure they are experienced in planning and PD rules and ensure their advice will give you a definate yes or no. I would expect this to cost you about £175.

The advice will carry more weight than anything the planners will tell you because the CS will carry PI insurance and you will be able to sue them if it all goes wrong. Such a claim would get nowhere with the planning dpepartment.