Workshop into Residential?

Buy the premises.
Flatten it
Buy this
Park it up
Connect it up to mains services
Job done!
 
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Buy the premises.
Flatten it
Buy this
Park it up
Connect it up to mains services
Job done!

Yeah, that's the funny thing. This would be allowed, right?

yet the bedroom in that caravan is tiny and the neighbours wouldn't want a gypsy living on their road. But this is allowed, whereas building a smart, little, trendy pad probably isn't as the bedroom needs to be 2.75 metres wide.


This is allowed in London though.....people were posting about smallest homes in the UK...

LONDON.png
 
Being up north I cannot fathom the opening roof window, this is the UK not California :)

Does the neighbour have a back door that gives them access to their garden? I could not see a side door on the pics.
Is there rear access to the garden from the bottom of it?
These may help if there is, when it comes to trying to buy back the ROW if they have other access.


What about the meter on the left, is there anything that gives ROW for meter readers?
 
Being up north I cannot fathom the opening roof window, this is the UK not California :)

Does the neighbour have a back door that gives them access to their garden? I could not see a side door on the pics.
Is there rear access to the garden from the bottom of it?
These may help if there is, when it comes to trying to buy back the ROW if they have other access.


What about the meter on the left, is there anything that gives ROW for meter readers?


-Yeah, a large opening like that would maybe be over the top, it was just an idea as I'd possibly not have any room for a garden and by that I just mean a place I could put a table and chairs. By having a large open roof you can bring the outside indoors....as long as it's sunny. I'd hate to live in any property that doesn't offer some privacy to enjoy the sunny summer weather, especially one this small. I now would likely fence off some of the left hand side of the 'driveway' for 2 garden chairs and a table.

-Neighbour looks like they have a back door to their garden. No rear access from the bottom of it. Not sure why it took me so long, but I realised that the main reason for this access is likely to put the dustbins out and back in. Every other house on the street has a path down the side of their house apart from this property, probably because the land the workshop sits on used to belong to this neighbour many years ago.

-No idea about the meter reader, but I did wonder what exactly that was. I guess if I need to move it, I can. If not, then there's still room to fence off a small outside seating area. I don't think I'd extend the house forward onto the 'driveway' as I can't build on the right of access 3 foot wide path, the only thing I could do was have a porch to that side which could also host a storage cupboard, but maybe that wouldn't be allowed, due to blocking light going through the neighbours door/going to the side of their house?

Basically, a porch this sort of size with a door at the side. Would this likely not be allowed due to blocking light to the neighbour with the white house?

PORCH.jpg
 
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Doesn't look like you could get a car on the drive without obstructing the neighbour's right of access :!: Can't you go to the site with the agent and measure the width of drive and internal width of the building :?: As I said previously you would need to allow for insulating the external walls to the standard required for a dwelling.
 
Doesn't look like you could get a car on the drive without obstructing the neighbour's right of access :!: Can't you go to the site with the agent and measure the width of drive and internal width of the building :?: As I said previously you would need to allow for insulating the external walls to the standard required for a dwelling.

I did email for a floor plan or at least written measurements.... I just got a reply which basically didn't even say anything. Why do these agents either ignore your emails or ignore your questions when they reply. Aren't they trying to sell these homes/lands/commercial space? Can't they at least say they don't have the measurements if they don't have them. Though, surely measurements are one of the most basic things a buyer requires.

Would save me having to go over and measure up and be like 'this is too small' when they could simply email me some god damn measurements.

Yes, driveway too small for a car due to blocking right of access. So I envisage the space on the left hand side being a small fenced off outside space for 2 garden chairs and a table. I would therefore park on the road.
 
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I would therefore park on the road.
Planners might not like that. If you measure it and find it is too small then that would save you wasting your time looking into it any further.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.
 
Planners might not like that. If you measure it and find it is too small then that would save you wasting your time looking into it any further.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.

It would be ridiculous if they didn't like me parking on the street as the owner of a property on the actual street. I am sure anyone living on a street is allowed at least 1 parking permit to park on a street like this that is in a town centre with restricted parking. 90% of the people that live on the street have to park on the street as they don't have off road parking.

A car cannot go on the driveway so has to go on the road.

It would be the same if I was to buy the workshop to use as a commercial premises, I'd have to park on the road.

But yes, the world is mad and for all I know this property is not entitled to a parking permit. :rolleyes:

I'll contact the council and see what they say.
 
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It would be the same if I was to buy the workshop to use as a commercial premises, I'd have to park on the road.
Luckily I have several Off-Street parking places with my commercial premises as it is in a controlled parking zone. Domestic residents get one free parking permit and extra permits for vehicles registered at their address are £100 per year. Parking permits for vehicles registered to businesses in the zone are £600 per year!
 
Luckily I have several Off-Street parking places with my commercial premises as it is in a controlled parking zone. Domestic residents get one free parking permit and extra permits for vehicles registered at their address are £100 per year. Parking permits for vehicles registered to businesses in the zone are £600 per year!

Nice.

£600 is a bit much.

I contacted the council and they said only residents are entitled to a parking permit. I am now trying to confirm whether I'd get a parking permit or not if I converted it, explaining that I cannot park on the driveway.

If the answer is no, which would be ridiculous, then the only option I'd have is trying to find a garage I can buy close to the property, which is surely going to be very tricky.

But yeah, maybe planners would not like it if I added my vehicle to the permit holders on the street as obviously the fact the workshop isn't entitled to a permit means I'd be adding to any difficulty with parking.

Parking beyond the right of access is a no-go as then the house would definitely be too small.
 
Council got back to me. A parking permit would be granted if this was made into a residential property.
 
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Interestingly I found this property in the next road along. It was an office and got planning permission in 2011 to be turned into a 2 bedroom home.

This means that the property would be entitled to 1 parking permit if they have 2 cars as they only have 1 off road parking space.

So it's been done, 200 yards away, a commerical property effectively in amongst neighbour's gardens which got planning permission to become a house and giving that property a parking permit was not an issue for the planners. Bodes well.

Obviously other things to worry about, but at least this is something to go on.
 
Council got back to me. A parking permit would be granted if this was made into a residential property.

That's not the issue though. As I understand the national planning policy framework, new Residential development requires an adequate provision for off-street parking which the property can't provide by the looks of things.

What might work in your favour is that the policy might not take account of the effect of the right of access, but if you dig into that there's probably a definition of a parking space with a minimum width.
 
As I understand the national planning policy framework, new Residential development requires an adequate provision for off-street parking which the property can't provide by the looks of things.
I wasn’t asked that for my planning permission. I was asked to provide two cycle parking places though.
 
That's not the issue though. As I understand the national planning policy framework, new Residential development requires an adequate provision for off-street parking which the property can't provide by the looks of things.

What might work in your favour is that the policy might not take account of the effect of the right of access, but if you dig into that there's probably a definition of a parking space with a minimum width.

From what I just read on my local borough's 'Parking Standards', any development with 15 or more dwellings has to stick to standards for off road parking provision, whereas if less than 15 dwellings are being built then it's only seen as advisory. So in my case it is advisory that a 1 bed dwelling provides 1 off road parking space. It's up to the council to decide whether me parking on the road would have too much of an impact on the area.

So seems too risky to go for it I guess. Who knows what they'd decide.

Can't you just contact the council and say "I have this plan to build a 1 bed dwelling on this road, could you let me know if you would be happy to provide me a parking permit for 1 car on this road?" and get an answer, instead of buying a property, putting in a planning application and then being told NO!
 

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