The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: asktheplanner on August 02, 2011, 11:29:25 am

Title: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: asktheplanner on August 02, 2011, 11:29:25 am
Hi Everyone
A friend told my about this forum and I'm joining mainly out of professional interest.  I'm a town planner.  I know, I know, not the kind of person you want to be friends with, if some of your posts are to be believed  ;D I'm a nice planner, honest, and I work very hard to take the unnecessary pain out of the planning process.

I live in rural South Lanarkshire and spent many years working in a rural planning department.  As a planning consultant, my work is varied and I'm always looking for fresh ideas on the planning system.  I look forward to getting involved in discussions and will be more than happy to throw in some advice and dispel any planning myths.
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: arborexplora on August 02, 2011, 11:44:35 am
Hello and welcome :)

I too am new to the forum but am becoming quickly addicted, there are many interesting posts.

You may be the very person to answer a thread I started last week.

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=17017.0 (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=17017.0)

I work as an Arboricultural Consultant with most of my work being planning related, pre-development reports, implication assessment etc. The information for me is pretty clear on permitted development rights for dwellings however throw agricultural land in there and it gets all fuzzy :-\
On a smallholding or farm where does the dwelling stop and the agricultural land begin?

 
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: Dan on August 02, 2011, 11:50:21 am
Hello and welcome from rainy Carnoustie.  :wave:

Definitely room for a tame and friendly planner on here, I'm sure there will be plenty of advice sought.  :D

On a smallholding or farm where does the dwelling stop and the agricultural land begin?

We faced exactly that when putting solar panels on our barn - needed a planning application ultimately, and although we did it ourselves and got there in the end there wasn't a lot of information freely available.
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: pikilily on August 02, 2011, 11:54:55 am
Ha Ha, do you come with a thick skin and a hard hat ??  ;D ;D

Its good to have a variety of expertese on the forum.... perhaps you will learn as much from us as we will from you. We may even convert you to a smallholder, in the meantime......You had better get studying on all the regional variations, cos there WILL be plenty for you to contribute!! So, big welcome from Tayside!
Emma T
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: robert waddell on August 02, 2011, 12:18:46 pm
hello anway    but i think the posters have got it wrong     this newbie could be on our side if there are sides at all  i can see lots of questions but not much money going your way  :farmer:
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: HappyHippy on August 02, 2011, 01:08:38 pm
Hello from me, also in South Lanarkshire (Lesmahagow to be exact) :wave:
Welcome to the forum & expect lots of questions  ;)
Karen.
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: Rosemary on August 02, 2011, 02:34:37 pm
Hi and welcome from monsoon Carnoustie :wave:

I worked with planners in Clackmannanshire Council and found them a decent bunch - mind you, I never needed any planning consents for personal projects. ;D
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: faith0504 on August 02, 2011, 06:32:13 pm
hi and welcome from moray  :wave:
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: deepinthewoods on August 02, 2011, 06:50:08 pm
hello from cornwall, and the best of british luck to you.
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: Sandy on August 02, 2011, 06:51:06 pm
Hi and welcome from Clackmannan, we had plans passed and nice the planner was too, BUT now we have changed our minds as the cost of the build is too much and would not add to the house value!!!!!
We all have our jobs and if there were no planners the place would be a mess!!! Welcome :wave:
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: goosepimple on August 02, 2011, 07:04:00 pm
Hello asktheplanner, I'm an architect as is my OH - I know, I know, I do try to take the pain out of building but as I tell everyone, it's like having a baby (I'm female) painful enough to kill you but in small enough doses not to...a professional hello to you, nice of you to join. ;)
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: lachlanandmarcus on August 02, 2011, 10:15:25 pm
I dont mind planners really! Even tho we are halfway through restoring a GradeB (scotland) listed building !

The only thing that is unfortunate is a tendency for some people/businesses locally to be able to get anything they want passed even if it is pig ugly, with the accompanying bribe (sorry section whatever it is contribution :-)) whereas the Joe Bloggs find it a LOT harder. And there is a lot of massive housing estate in the countryside with business attached proposals which are presented as  'local business plus a minor enabling development....' :-)))

But on the whole, given some householders appalling taste and constant tendency to cut costs and corners, I think the planners are a definite necessity!!
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: robert waddell on August 02, 2011, 10:21:46 pm
what used to be a bribe or considered to be a bribe (brown Manila)     is now classed as planning gain  based on the size of the development this can be small to contributing to the new school that is planned for in ten years time
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: goosepimple on August 03, 2011, 06:07:39 pm
Oh dear, look what you've started asktheplanner.....remember everyone planners decisions are based on 'criteria' and not 'personal opinion'.....the trouble is joe bloggs often takes things into his own hands and the works are not always checked by the planners after they are built and they get away with it....and usually the architect gets the blame for bad architecture - while I'm on that subject a so called Architectural Designer, Architectural Technician or Architectural Services ARE NOT ARCHITECTS!!!!!!Grrrrrr!!!!!!!But that's for another day....
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: janeislay on August 03, 2011, 08:11:08 pm
Hi asktheplanner - my daughters are both in South Lanarkshire and my dad in Lesmahagow - what an amazing place that is !  No traffic lights, no yellow lines, free for all jolly safe sort of place !  One daughter is being threatened by two new windturbine mega sites - what do you feel about them ?
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: Sudanpan on August 04, 2011, 09:18:39 pm
Hi asktheplanner - hope you enjoy the forum - we are a bit of an interesting bunch  ;) ;)

remember everyone planners decisions are based on 'criteria' and not 'personal opinion'.....

Sorry goosepimple - have to take major issue with you there - one of my BIG problems with the system, as we have experienced over the last few years down here, is that it is PRECISELY because personal opinions DO come into it... I would WELCOME a set of straight forward criteria to follow. We found that it boiled down to the lead planner on the team - even his colleagues couldn't tell you what would or wouldn't be acceptable, it all had to be answered by him - if there were set criteria to follow then it should have been miles more straight forward.

We had a situation where the Department Head told us (in writing) that something would be ok, only to be told by the team leader that he wouldn't allow it.....

All the best  ;D ;D
Tish
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: little blue on August 04, 2011, 09:21:59 pm
Hello and welcome :wave:
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: ambriel on August 04, 2011, 10:37:50 pm

Hello and welcome from the far northwest corner of the country!

Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: pikilily on August 05, 2011, 05:18:24 pm
Oooooh Mr/Mrs asktheplanner, you have got a lively time ahead of you here. there is a related topic going at the moment on static caravans, you may be interested.
ET x
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: Millwood on August 05, 2011, 11:38:12 pm
Hello from Oxfordshire! :wave: My dad's a planning consultant! (semi-retired to his relief!)
Title: Re: Room for a town planner on here?
Post by: waterhouse on August 06, 2011, 12:59:20 am
Hi: I hope you have body armour!

We're very happy with our only-took-11-months-despite-being-supported-in-writing-by-the-neighbours-and-within-planning-policy-and-invisible-from-any-road stables. Now if it had been in any way contentious we might have had some delays.

We particularly enjoyed the bit where we paid extra and waited six weeks for them to agree that the wooden stables with an onduline roof should be built in wood with an onduline roof. Given that they imposed no colour restriction, approving the materials was particularly pointless....