Well the word from that silent Council planning officer mentioned in the previous post came through yesterday, permission was granted but not without another set of hoops to jump through first. “No development or other operation shall commence on site until an Arboricultural Method Statement and Scheme of Works in accordance with BS5837; 2012 has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.” What, it’s a big shed not a housing development?
I’m now hoping to be moving in by the end of September rather than August.
We have large oak trees that line the dirt lane at the back of our property, they are covered under a council Tree Protection order which we were well aware of. The trees are beautiful all year round and we would never do anything to harm them, none are within our property but given our narrow garden one or two branches extend over the path close to the existing garage.
In our planning application it was stated that “The garden room will be situated in an area of the garden where no landscaping will be necessary. The proposed development will not have an adverse effect on any protected species/habitats.” Guess the planner didn’t agree. I was told by a friend that it may be they’re concerned about the roots that extend well into our garden, but I’m not planning a cellar, in fact the building is going on top of the existing concrete base that has been there for 20+ years.
So the removal of the garage scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled, I am now waiting for a local ‘Arborist’ to have a look and advise on this statement that needs to be submitted. I’m sure there will be a fee to him to write it, a fee to the council to file it, and given the council seems to take 6 weeks for anything, and it’s the summer holiday period, maybe I should revise my expectations on moving in till October!
Meanwhile this morning I heard about the Shed of the Year finalists, made me think I’m being very un-creative in opting for a basic timber building.
