PLANNING LOOPHOLES

If you get familiar with some of the lesser-known rules, they may just help you get approval for your project

- SIMON RIX

You may have realised from many of the articles I write on planning consent for Homebuilding & Renovating that I regard much of the planning system in this country as being stacked against the ordinary citizen, who usually just wants to do the right thing by themselves and their community. Yes, of course we need rules, but the problem is that most of the planning rules in the UK are far too complicated, unreasonable or both. And too many of the people making decisions about individual planning applications can sometimes act unreasonably. I don't say this lightly and it's not just a theory. Every month in my job as a planning consultant, people come to me for help because they've been treated terribly by local councils. Their stories are often heart wrenching.

It's not surprising therefore that people often ask me if there are any loopholes in the system that they can use. If the rules were fair and all the people judging planning applications were reasonable, then I'd be reluctant to engage with this. Hopefully we can get to that stage, but for now we are where we are, and people need help with their lives today, so I do my best to help them. Also, a so-called 'loophole' is actually just something that is allowed by the rules, it's just that most people don't realise that particular rule exists. It's part of my job to help people understand some of these lesserknown rules, and that's what I will be doing in this article. The new government may change some of the regulations, but as things stand, here are some of the so-called loopholes that might help you.

SELF-AND CUSTOM-BUILD STATUS