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Cast your mind back to the November 2017 edition of this column. I was bemoaning the local planning department, who had given permission for two houses on a plot opposite mine, with absolutely no consideration to the fact that there was no turning head (a Building Regulations requirement). This would make the scheme unworkable for the purchaser, and absolutely miserable for anyone living in the lane, as oil tanker drivers and delivery vehicles realised that their reversing skills were about to be tested to destruction. Rereading it now, I can recall how angry I was at the time. Not because the land was being developed, but by the stupidity of a planning system so disconnected from the regs overseen by the office next door.
I thought I’d give you an update. Firstly, that article I wrote became very useful. Whenever I saw a prospective purchaser coming for a viewing, I’d scurry outside for a chat, tell them about anything they needed to know, and give them a complimentary copy of that earlier magazine with instructions to read my feature. Armed with this information, they would beetle back to the estate agent and tell them that it was a lovely site, but what about the turning head? It had the desired effect and before long, the vendor was seen pacing around outside, scratching his head and wondering how the plans could be made to work. On one plot, an underground trunk sewer that couldn’t be built over also complicated things. It pushed the proposed house forward, making the creation of a turning space very difficult – which is probably why there wasn’t one already.