Certificate of Lawful Development for loft conversion

[devsdev]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone falling under Lewisham Council has had a loft conversion done recently and can share their experience with the council? Does the council actually take the full 8 weeks to give the Certificate of Lawful Development?

Has anyone (Lewisham or Southwark) risked starting work before the certificate has been granted (the loft company would require an indemnity from us if we did this)? Waiting the full 8 weeks will make the timetable for the works extremely tight for us, so we're trying to assess if this is an option or if we shouldn't risk it.

Thanks in advance for any responses

Dev

[asherplanning]

Hi - as a local town planning consultant I submit lots of applications to Lewisham and Southwark and in my experience they do tend to take the full 8 weeks.

Lots of people do start work beforehand but you would need to be absolutely sure that your proposals fall within the Permitted Development limits and so are going to be acceptable.

[devsdev]

Thanks so much for your response - I guess it'll be a bit chicken and egg then. We have to rely on the architect/loft company to draw plans that fall within the permitted development limits and they take an indemnity from us saying we're satisfied that the plans do so! We just need to fall within the 40 cubic mtrs limit for additional living space, correct?

Thanks again!

[asherplanning]

Yes 40 cubic metres is the limit for a terraced house.

Other, probably obvious limits are:

Extension mustn't be higher than existing roof

If inc. a dormer this must be at the back of the house (though you can have rooflights at the front)

Bottom of dormer must be 20cm from the original eaves

No balcony etc

No chimney, flue, or soil stack vent

[red devil]

devsdev, have you asked them the reasoning behind why they insist on an imdemnity? I would've thought any architect/loft developer would know the PD regs inside out, and should confidentally be able to deliver a loft extension that falls within those limits. When you get the Cert they still have to build it within those limits, just as they would if they started before you received the Cert. Speak to some other loft companies and get their thoughts...

[devsdev]

Hi all,

Just an update - basically the "indemnity" is to cover extra costs etc. incurred in case any permissions/consents don't come through (though it's very unlikely this should happen). This includes We've gone over the drawings carefully with someone who works in planning and all should be good we hope. Basically the risk is small enough and the benefits of starting early are big enough to warrant starting starting before we have the certificate of lawfulness in place. Obviously building control will be done during the build.

Thanks again to all!