Obtaining consent to create your own house can present one of the most challenging parts of the self build journey. Here, Mike Dade shares the inside track on how to craft an application that yields positive results

Due to its location in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the design for this house had to adhere to a strict set of guidelines so it woudn’t have a negative impact on the scenery.This project was delivered by Eurban (www. eurban.co.uk)

TIMOTHY SOAR

For many self builders, tracking down the perfect plot to build a dream home presents one of the biggest hurdles of the process. Once you have the ideal site sorted, it’s likely that you’ll want to crack on with construction as soon as possible – but it’s not always that simple. Typically, the planning process takes around two months – providing everything goes smoothly. But depending on the details of your design and local planning policy, you might find that this phase stretches on for several months or more. Of course, no one wants to go through the application process more than once if it can be avoided. So, what are the most common causes for delays once your proposal has been submitted? And how can they be avoided to give your scheme the best chance of success? These are a couple of the questions I’ll be delving into here.

Common obstacles

The most frequent causes of delays and refusals can be grouped into three broad categories: content and presentation of the application; conflicts with policy and planning officers’ opinions; and political issues.Many proposals are delayed on submission because the council won’t validate and register them. Forms, plans, reports and information, plus the necessary fee, must all be correctly presented. The eight-week period for determining the application won’t start until the council is satisfied that everything is present and correct.