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Planning permissionis theprocesshat st kes earnto theheartofevery self-builder;t's,,'henyourcarefullycrafteddreamscanbedashed hanks o thedecisions fabunch ofstrangers.Asan architect,however, 'vehadmore expedenceftheplanningprocesshanyouravcrageelfbuilder so \\'asoptimistic that thiswouldhold us ngoodstead. ftheresone thing Iveleamed overthe years, t's hat there'sosubstitute or puttingin plcntyof egwork the more youaskquestionsand isleno the adviceyouie given.he lesschanceyourplanswillbe rejected.With that in mind,Icarefullyputtogetherapre-applicationnquiryra22-page ocumentshowingphotosofthe plotand detailingwhatweplannedo buildand where.Becausewewanted o replaceheexistingbungalowwith at\,vostoreyhouse.lneedcd o reassureheplannershat the new propertywouldn't further obslrLrctnyvie\,softhecountryside.Aspartofthis process,invitedthe planners ovisit the site o getabeLter deaof our plans.t uas allvery nformal-the planningomcerspenta coupleofhours u'ith me,walkinghe vadoussjght ines andlooking atthe drawingsandscalemodels.Byhis time, Ihad alreadyrefined he designa numberof timesand $'ason my eighthmodel-Iwasnt leavinganthingto chancelWe soon receivedn informalietlerfrom theplanningdepartmentstating hatthey were n favourofthescheme,n principle.The irstofthe hurdleshadbeenclearednorvforthe neighbours!Theresnogettingaway tom thelact thatthepeoplewho liveclosestto yourplotareboundto haveanopinionon whatvouieplanoing.veapproachedhe two setsofneighbourswho livenext to oursiteandtalked hem throughhe plans,emphasisingxactlywhat ne'ddoneto minimisethe impacton theirproperties.Forexample,n oneelevationofour househere wontbe any windows,so whenourneighbourooksoutofhis houseover he surroundingandscapetnight,he rvon beable o seeanyof the lightsrom our house.Thefeedbackwe receivedromthemwas positiveso we submittedheplanningapplicationn f,r11. ndthen the problemsstarted...Other neighboursubmittedobjectionso the plans;someofthem werescepticalaboutwhat $'ewererying to achieve.thinktheyfelt that wewereumpingon thegreenbandwagonas away totryand getourplansapproved.Theneighboursweren theonlyoneso havedifferingopinionsabout our house.At the parishcouncilopinionsweresplit buttheresultnas infavourofa refusal,meaninghe schemewould haveogobeforeaplanningcommitteeatth€boroughcouncilf we wereogetapproval.Our projectwas astturning ntoaMarmitehouseyou eitherovedor hated t.So.I wasdue to havemythreeminutesof fame-Thiswas mychance o standup beforehecommitteeand wa\iyricalabout thervonderfulhousewe hopedo buiid,allthe timeknowing hatthey couldputan end toourplans inan instant.After Ia spoken,hadto sit andlisteno the committeediscussingour plans.And even fsomeofth€thingsh€y weresayingwereinaccurate,Iwasntallowed ospeakup andputthem ight. Than_kliy,Imusthavebeenconvincingbecause,aftera short while.heygaveuspermissionbere and then.Cuehugesighsof reliefall round.\\rith ourbabv on the way, rvorkonthe site couldntbeginsoon enough.Seeing he odginalbungalorv eingdemolishedand the site beingclearcdmade me realisehat we'rewell on the rvayo realisingourdreams,\.en ftherearea few morehurdleso clearbeforewecrossthat linishing in€.IntervlewB€th Myersabove, lomtop RcfrardndSoph wth Kevlvlccld outwthtlteoldas trelrLrngalowetsd,arno hed ndworkcanbegn n earneslrlnlsiOCk!P dernonstratesllsrnow aoaRchdrds esns