Anyone experienced with extra large workshop builds in a UK garden?

[MJP]

I think I would be having words with a neighbour who decided to put up a 4.5m high structure 6 feet from my boundary and which stretched more than half-way down my garden. Aside from the impact on property value, if my garden is west-facing, that would put most of my garden in shade for most of the day. Permitted development be damned, that would not be acceptable.

Forty years ago I built almost exactly this - a fifty foot long workshop with a pitched roof reaching to about fifteen feet high at the apex, running along about two thirds of the boundary with my neighbour to the North, so it's on his South side.

The planning dept asked around and no-one had any objections, the next door neighbour's comment was "I can see more than I can have anyway".

Now, the current owners are perfectly happy with a high boundary wall since they like their privacy.

Takes all sorts...one man's meat and so on.

Martin.

 

[xavierx6]

Hence my suggestion of losing c. 1.5 foot either side - ultimately measurements are presumably rough until the house is owned and the OP has something accurate to measure with - I wouldn’t base anything on estate agent’s details!

This is a perfectly sensible suggestion if I were to go ahead with what I proposed, it would certainly give more flexibility with the roof

 

[xavierx6]

Akirk says it all very well. But do check that Permitted Development rights have not been removed (as they have where I live) under an Article 4 Direction. Your council’s online mapping service should show you this. If in doubt apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development.

Andrew

Thankyou for your suggestion, I have checked and there are no special conditions in this area

 

[xavierx6]

Hence my suggestion of losing c. 1.5 foot either side - ultimately measurements are presumably rough until the house is owned and the OP has something accurate to measure with - I wouldn’t base anything on estate agent’s details!

I used the measuring tool on google earth to get a rough idea of the real measurements. Estate agents seem to just guess

 

[xavierx6]

And just why does that make a difference?
Just because it's a low income does not mean they don't have pride and enjoyment it what they can do, and have the right to be concerned.
If a person living in the area your suggesting for your development is reading this, your statement could really inflame them, as implying that somehow they are lesser person for lacking money.

I donþ think that last phrase in your post does you any favours at all.

I live in a low income area in a low income town. I am looking to move to another low income area in the same low income town. It is what it is, it's not offensive, I didn't say anyone is lesser than me, these are the people I live amongst, they are the same as me.

You seem to be completely missing the point and being all PC and offended for no reason.

There is absolutely going to be a difference in what your neighbours would allow/object to if you lived on a council estate, than if you lived next door to Lady Snootington of Chumly Manor in a £5million country estate

 

[xavierx6]

As several people have mentioned this now.

I am not going to be running a business
I am not going to be doing any commercial activity
I will rarely ever be making any noise and certainly not at a time that would annoy neighbours
There will be no pollution / no burning / no smoke / no dust

 

[xavierx6]

Another issue I would like to address in a single post as several have mentioned it.

Why would my proposed workshop devalue your house?

I have been looking for a property with an existing workshop of this scale, they do exist, but are rare to come by and are sold for a HUGE premium, certainly more than I can afford.

I also have been tracking property ask/sale prices in my area for the last 2 years. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever, that any property that neighbours any large commercial buildings have been devalued or are any more difficult to sell.

 

[Sachakins]

There is absolutely going to be a difference in what your neighbours would allow/object to if you lived on a council estate, than if you lived next door to Lady Snootington of Chumly Manor in a £5million country estate

I don't see that correlation, In fact the last sentence further highlights my point. I am not being PC , but just because I live on a council, somehow means I don't have same rights or feelings as a country estate owner.
In reality, the impact on the country estate is likely less obtrusive than a commercial sized shed maybe 10 feet from my backdoor.

I am not saying you shouldn't do it, just your rational with respect to your neighbours and their neighbourhood.

Also regarding the permitted development, do you know if the property your looking at has had any development to it during its lifespan, as noticed this caveat about outbuildings

:No more than half the area of land around the "original house"* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
Caveat being;
The term "original house" means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Another issue I would like to address in a single post as several have mentioned it.

Why would my proposed workshop devalue your house?

I have been looking for a property with an existing workshop of this scale, they do exist, but are rare to come by and are sold for a HUGE premium, certainly more than I can afford.

I also have been tracking property ask/sale prices in my area for the last 2 years. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever, that any property that neighbours any large commercial buildings have been devalued or are any more difficult to sell.

House prices are ultimately determined by what someone is prepared to pay for it. Someone who has no need of a large workshop will discount the price they would pay whereas someone who restores large items for a hobby may be willing to pay a premium.

If you overlay on this the mortgage valuation (which could be a factor for a purchaser) where the lender is assessing the value they could get in a depressed market without a long period on the market the assumption will be that it’s a bit of a rarity so there may be more potential buyers that will discount the price and therefore the mortgage valuation will reflect that.

In my opinion it’s a gamble and you wouldn’t really know until you came to sell. IMHO most people (rich or poor) will have concerns about the impact on saleability on their property if they saw a large workshop being erected next door. You will have a better feel for the sentiment of the neighbours though.

 

[Keith 66]

I recently sold my mums bungalow in Lancashire with .56 of an acre of land, (Came under Lancaster City Council), due to restrictive covenants there was no development allowed on the big paddock at the end of the garden, mores the pity!
It is worth looking at the planning portal & planning history of your local area on your council website. It will tell you everything that has gone on locally, who was consulted, their responses, the lot.
In my case it was easy to see that there wasnt a cat in hells chance to get planning permission for anything.
A neighbour had tried twice to get PP on a 4 acre plot with tiny cottage next door for a house, he had employed an Architect & planning consultants to get this through, All that happened was The planning consultants reamed him royally. He was £16,000 lighter & no planning perm, In fact he was now on the councils radar & the cottage he was happily living in in his retirement had its planning status looked at & they found it was actually holiday use only! That meant he had to move out!
A look at the planning portal would have saved him the trouble.
Hurdles were, AONB, Conservation area, City council, Parish council, Environment agency, Highways agency, English Heritage, Arboricultural survey, Bat survey, Amphibian survey (all these £800 a pop) All these consulted before it got knocked back.
Strangely the firm of planning consultants involved with the debacle next door were recomended to me by a local estate agent who i didnt engage!
I decided discretion was the better part of valor & sold the place first!

 

[clogs]

I'm building a 200m2 barn on my prop......
it will be full of car lifts, a wood and metal machine shop.....
plus all the ancillery stuff that goes with it.....
it will only be sold after I'm dead.....
it's being built with an antique car collector in mind as the next owner.....
even if we double the price it will still be less than 1/2 of what you'd pay in the UK.....
bring ur antique cars n motorcycles to Crete they dont rot.....summer is almost 10 months long....hahaha....
there is interest from owners here already...we asked around just to get an idea....
all the prop I had in the UK had large workshops (not as big as the above) when it came to sale time....
priced it up well above the going rate for the house (due to the workshop) only had a few numpties offer less.....
we got our asking price everytime.....
There's a big need for working space at home....and new owners have just gotta pay.....
I would say it's going to be even more of a selling point in the future.....
lots of prop in the UK, you can't park a van or caravan outside on the drive....
if you can do it go for it......better than money in the bank and you get the use of it plus the fun of doing it ur way....
good luck.....

 

[okeydokey]

Somewhere in this post the OP said he had the same amount of storage/workplace in various shed/buildings (in one place?) assuming he has been able to use these without hassle from others has he considered perhaps a workable solution might be to improve these/join a few together as imo its unlikely he will get consent even after appeal etc