After working hard for years on end, many people in the UK dream of building a dream home for themselves and their close ones to enjoy. Finding an ideal spot of land to put your new home on and then creating a dream house with all the appointments and interior features you could ever dream of sounds just perfect. However, a significant issue that those looking to build a dream home from scratch face is that getting planning permission approved in the UK from your local planning authority can be a tricky process full of pitfalls. To support you in your quest, we have come up with some tips for things you need to remember when building your dream home from scratch.
Consider How Closely You Can Stick to Your Budget
Sticking to a budget sounds simple enough, but as you get further along the line in building your dream home, you will realise that slipping away from your initial budget is all too easy. Make sure the budget you come up with includes the overall costs for all the furniture, home décor items, and the more delicate touches of your dream home. Don’t forget that you will also have to cover the cost of the contactors’ labour and pay for the building materials. The original budget you set must be realistic. Setting a budget that is too low or high will mean you constantly find yourself having to worry about readjusting your budget accordingly during the process of building your own dream home from scratch.
Research the Planning Policies That Apply to Building Your Dream Home
In this country, it is well-known that it can be a challenge to get permission granted to build yourself a home on land where there are currently no residential properties.
Green belt policies in England are used by local planning authorities to prevent large built-up areas from sprawling without any constraints and preserve the beauty of historic towns and the English countryside. So, when you’re planning to build a dream home on land in rural England, you need to make sure you read through green belt policies and their implications in detail. Bear in mind that you may need to employ the services of land surveyors and ecological consultancies so you can provide plenty of detailed information in your planning application to your local planning authority.
It’s Likely That You Will Require Planning Permission
You will likely require some form of planning permission to build your dream home on rural land. But don’t be deterred from applying for permission to build your home in the country just because some people may tell you it could be difficult. The worst that can happen is the local planning authority says no and rejects your planning application.
You May Have to Make Sustainability Commitments
You may well also want to own a large plot of land along with your dream home. You could potentially do many amazing things with your dream outdoor space. Perhaps you are an animal lover and would love to keep horses in a field, or maybe you want to build an outdoor swimming pool area. You should be aware that new homes and property development nowadays often have to demonstrate how there are protecting biodiversity in the local area and not disturbing the surrounding environment to the detriment of the natural habitats of flora and fauna on the land in question.
To find out more about how you can get fast quality biodiversity assessments from a team of expert ecologists for a reasonable price, check out the services offered by Biodiversity Net Gain Plan. Sustainability and ecological considerations are essential things that you must think about. Later on, these factors may have a significant impact on the local planning authority’s decision on whether or not to grant you planning permission to build your new ideal rural home. Is there clear evidence that your new property will ruin the habitats of birds, squirrels or fishes living within the boundary area? In this case, this may be one of the reasons the local planning authority decides to turn down your ambitious planning application.
You May Come Across Obstacles Along the Way
When building your dream home, the realisation that you may encounter some difficulties, delays and setbacks along the way is essential to keep you on track, and above all, sane. You may have a few days where no building gets done as the builders are off sick, your home may have difficulty getting hold of a safe supply of gas or electricity, you may find subsidence issues with the roof you want to put on the property and so on. Pretty much any problem can delay the completion of your dream home.
Therefore, making sure that you communicate properly and have frequent conversations with the contractors working for you is essential. Slight delays do not matter so much, and the most important thing is that your dream home gets built to the very highest possible standard. Your new home should be ready for you to move into a few weeks later than initially scheduled, rather than rushing and messing up your dream home entirely. Pressuring building contractors to build your home before a specific date may lead to them inadvertently making mistakes. Then you will constantly have to deal with costly maintenance issues around the place.
Think About Ways You Can Personalise Your Living Space
One of the beauties of designing and building your own dream home is the fact that you can personalise your home space as much as you like. What furniture do you think will suit the room? What windows do you think will look good and bring the largest amount of natural sunlight into your home? How many bedrooms do you want? Do you want a home office space? Where can your kids play around in your new home if you have them? The most important thing about your new home is that it feels like a special place that belongs to you and is somewhere you are able to live in peace and comfort.