We requested a Certificate of Lawful Development from
the local authority to ensure that the extension that we'd
designed could be legally built within the permitted
development framework, meaning no planning permission
was required.
During the initial stages of the building work, a well was
discovered between the house and the adjoining property,
which were once a large detached home. The foundations
were due to be laid where the well was positioned, so we
assessed the structure of the well with the local building
control manager, and deemed it unsafe to continue.
Unfortunately, the owners, who hoped to keep the well as
a feature, it had to be filled in with concrete and capped
for the building work to continue safely.
Following concerns from the building control department
that the original extension design included too much
glazing and wouldn't have met the building regulations for
insulation, we agreed an optimal number of windows that
the client was also happy with.
22