Most garage conversions stand a good chance of obtaining planning permission under normal household consent. So unless there's a particular parking or conservation issue, we are generally in favour of applying for planning permission.
Garage conversions can be a great way of achieving a playroom or additional living space for relatively little cost, and can often end up adding a great deal to the value of your home. Depending upon the job at hand, we're advocates of building a shed in the garden, de-cluttering the garage and the house, revising the internal layout and converting the garage. This is often where the “low hanging fruit” resides.
Sometimes clients like to keep the front portion of the garage for bikes and tools, and open up the rear piece of the garage for additional living space, which can typically done very cheaply.
What's really needed is a holistic, practical approach, and an understanding of what you're trying to achieve (often more space but without compromising on storage).
Call us to see how the rules apply in your specific case.
Barns and Other Conversions
The government introduced a raft of genuinely ground-breaking planning legislation in 2013. Since this date, we have been helping developers convert office buildings into large multi-flat schemes, up to 200 flats per building. In one case we acquired a consent that increased the value of a former office building from £2.1m to £3.85m over a period of 6 months, and assisted the sale and practical conversion of the same on behalf of the new owner.
Later rafts of legislation have opened up opportunities to convert barns, warehouses and all sorts of other under-used buildings into homes.
Barn conversions can make magnificent homes, often with very little work to the outside.
Call, message or WhatsApp us on 07865 259181 for a tailored steer.
The “small print”…
Just Plans is a Limited Company Companies House reference 10113657
By “advice” or “consultancy”, we mean that we are generally happy to offer provisional thoughts and suggestions to homeowners and other existing or potential clients, based on our experience of having submitted hundreds of planning applications for many different properties for many different councils over more than a 20 year period.
Because of this and other similar experience, many people who are considering a project find it useful to talk us through their plans. At our reasonable discretion, we are generally happy to spend some unpaid time listening and walking people through the general process and the typical different options that they might like to consider.
Any such advice or consultancy is limited to provisional and general guidance. The risks and rewards associated with any project or decision exclusively remain the homeowner’s or the developer’s, unless we have explicitly stated otherwise in writing and have been paid to share in such risk or such responsibility.
Likewise, we assume no liability for taking on any “due diligence”, any CIL negotiation, accurately predicting the local authority’s decisions, any role as Principal Designer or similar, or any other role or function whatsoever, whether or not it forms part of RIBA or RICS or any similar legislation, unless we have explicitly stated otherwise in writing, and unless we have received payment for the same.
Unless otherwise agreed, we act exclusively as our clients’ agents, and under their authority. We agree jobs on a case by case basis, always evidenced in writing, and never on a merely verbal basis.
For full terms of service and for how our plans should be used, refer also to the right hand margin of any plan supplied.
