You’re Dream Home
Finding a building site then designing and constructing a bespoke home of your dreams can be very rewarding. It can also be very daunting to some people. The home is a place where you sleep, eat, drink, relax, be safe, raise a family, play and work. Building a home from scratch can give you a sense of major achievement. What was once a vacant piece of ground becomes the place for your new home. It can be small or it can be a large however the principles involved from start to finish are generally the same. Few people build and finish every part of their new home at once and tend to work at over time. The home therefore evolves over a period. They work at it, get new ideas, add new bits, take away bits until some day it is considered finished. And when it is complete people usually start again to update and further improve it. If you love your home you are always working at it.
Where to Start
Constructing a new home is a major challenge and one of the many hurdles during the process is obtaining all of the necessary approvals from the various statutory authorities. These are government departments that will want their say in your development by telling you what you can build and what you can’t. There are many but the most important of which is the planning department. Without planning permission there is no point talking to any of the others authorities. This process can be daunting and the best person to guide you through this process is an architect. They are experts at planning law and can assist you through the entire process step by step from initial design concept to obtaining the final approvals so that you can start building.
What will the Planning Authorities Want?
The Planning Authorities will usually dictate what types of structures and finishes they would prefer for a particular location. Building without planning permission is a serious offence. You can be prosecuted for building without planning and if found guilty you can be fined and forced to remove a building or part thereof. They will decide what you can build and what you can’t. They are responsible for the development of all land in the cities, towns and country side. They will dictate your development position and look. The planning department is one of the many authorities that you must seek approval from and the whole process takes some considerable time so lots of patient will be required.
Planning Application Types
Some planning departments allow applications for planning permission on an “in principle or outline basis”. This in effect means you will be given approval to build a house on a particular location in principle only. The information provided at this stage is minimal usually a site map and a general description of what you want to build. This method allows you to investigate the possibility of achieving permission without the need to prepare expensive detailed drawings and specifications etc. Permission at this stage will usually impose certain conditions on the development such as size of the house, height i.e. how many floors, shape and finishes. Should you be refused planning permission at this stage then you have not wasted a lot of time and money preparing detailed house plans needlessly. Once you have permission in principle it will be subject to approval of the detailed design at a later stage.
Detailed Design
The detailed design should be based on the conditions set out at outline stage. When applying for detailed design you must follow the requirements of the outline approval to the letter of the law. This will make the detailed approval process easier. Deviation from these principles may result in refusal of detailed approval. The detailed information at this stage includes a set of scaled drawings indicating the proposed plans of the house, elevations, the site layout, types of finishes to be used, ground levels, landscape proposals, drainage facilities and any other details they deem necessary to consider the application. In addition to your architects fee there is also a planning application fees involved.
Other Departments
When you have achieved planning permission you can proceed to the next stage in the approvals process. Other departments may include building control i.e. how the house is physically built, road authorities, and water / sewerage authorities. They will all want their say. There may be others depending on the type of development. It all takes a lot of time. Good luck with the development of your dream home.
Need Help
If you are from Northern Ireland and want to build a new home and need advice please visit our website for details of the services we provide. You can access our website on http://architectsbelfast.com or you call me Michael Small on 004479 77 534132. We offer professional architectural design services in Belfast and the surrounding areas. We can act on your behalf at competitive rates in designing your dream home or altering an existing one and obtain all the necessary statutory approvals. We look forward to your call.
