[doganjo]

The Planning Committee have finally allowed me to have outline planning consent on my plot in Aberdeenshire.  Now to decide what to do with it.  I can't afford to build without a mortgage, and in any case I wouldn't make any more than if I were to sell it as it is.  I have to pay £750 planning gain and there are conditions attached, including protecting three old beech trees which have a short lifespan, and an ash that is being drained by ivy.  So I wonder ....................  what to do - any suggestions, bearing in mind the neighbours have all objected over the last 4 years!

[robert waddell]

only you can decide what to do    all we can provide is what we would do and that is irrelevant  as we have not stayed there as you have or are party to your circumstances
 
if it were me  and Aberdeen was an area i like    i would sell the present house use that as the money pit for the new build and stay in a residential while it is being constructed 
 
and again plots and houses are selling well in that locality  you could sell and not have money worries for a few years        in reality you only have the two choices

[omnipeasant]

Talk to a good architect. he will probably have more answers than we do. I wish you look with your project. 

[Rosemary]

I'd let it out to local farmers and horse owners as a muck store 

Well done - so glad things are moving at last 

[Bionic]

I can't offer any advice but your perseverance has paid off. Well done 
Sally

[Roxy]

Congratulations on finally getting the plans passed!!  I think the councils drag their feet and hope you will give up, sometimes ......
As to what to do - depends if you need the money from the plot for other things firstly.  And do you want the hassle of having a house built, and the cost of materials etc .....and then housing market being what it is, maybe it would not sell quickly, or for as much as planned.
Also depends on how much a plot goes for with planning.  Can be £100,000 upwards for a little tiny space here.  Have just seen two on a prestigious road and they are £550,000 each, and believe it or not have sold, so goodness knows how much the houses will be worth when built!!
Looking at it from a money point of view, I think I would get the plot valued with the planning, and take the money and let someone else have the worry, and expenditure.  But thats because I am getting on a bit, and maybe a few years ago, would have done it myself and then sold, but I am more cautious money wise now , for one thing
 

[doganjo]

if it were me  and Aberdeen was an area i like    i would sell the present house use that as the money pit for the new build and stay in a residential while it is being constructed 
 

That's exactly what I did first time Robert, but I live down here now. 
Houses not selling well in that area but there are very few plots available.

I'd let it out to local farmers and horse owners as a muck store

Ha ha, you know the history!  Sounds like a plan to me  - at least until I decide what to do - or maybe car/tractor/caravan storage?

@Roxy - no don't NEED the money, but don't want to waste it either.

Have been vaguely thinking of a log cabin and renting out for holiday lets as it's such a beautiful area and so close to lots of Scotland's great points of interest..  Oh boy, would my neighbours LOVE that - not!

[Beewyched]

I bet that's a great relief Annie - well done for sticking it out 
Take some time to reflect on your achievement - you could always let it to someone who keeps pigs in the meantime 

[doganjo]

That's another great idea!

[goosepimple]

I'd think about how much stress it may cause - can you cope with that?  Building and holiday letting can have real problems attached - perhaps selling is the option - it depends on your age, circumstances etc - remember you would need detailed consent (my OH has an Aberdeen office if you need a 'good architect') and often what people get consent for is not what a purchaser may want.  Sit on it a while and let your neighbourly neighbours stew  - don't wait too long though, consents have a life-span and you have to re-apply or extend the one you get.

[robert waddell]

there was an old hotel in Edinburgh  the planning was just about to run out  i was hired in to dig a track and lay a pipe  not coming from anywhere and not going anywhere    the solicitor next door came out viewed it and signed the form permission granted for another 3 years

[goosepimple]

    there's a way around everything....

[tizaala]

Have you thought about one of those self build wooden Swedish houses that come on the back of a truck? less than £40,000.

[Beewyched]

That's another great idea!

Hey Annie    I could bring a couple of mine up for "over-wintering" if you like - I'm sure the neighbours would be enthralled     

[doganjo]

Ha ha - like it  

The ironic thing about that is that one of my neighbours suggested when I lived there that we start up a KK breeding establishment, and for them to be 'organic'.  (strange thing is she is vegetarian of a sort - she cooks chicken for her kids and uses the juices to make gravy which she then pours over her Linda Mcartney sausages  ) )

She was previously quite a close friend would you believe - she told me that objecting to my planning application wasn't to be taken personally!    I'm just not sure I can go back to that friendship after the four years of hassle.