One Extra Room Plan It, Build It

Everywhere you look, we British are building.

We're adding, developing

and extending our homes in every possible direction.

In my mind I feel like it's going to be amazing.

But any substantial change we make must be approved

by a bunch of people dedicated

to protecting our public spaces and neighbourhoods.

We've never had an application with them on tracing paper still.

So, if you want an eat-in kitchen,

an en-suite bathroom or a self-contained study,

then it's time to take action.

You've got to plan it, build it.

Which of us wouldn't love just one extra room in our house?

A spare bedroom? A big family room?

Somewhere to store sports equipment or a quiet place to work?

Planners are well aware that up and down the country,

people long to increase their living space,

but it's a planner's job to protect our built environment,

not just for us and our neighbours, but for generations yet to come.

Planners want to make sure we always think before we build.

They've obviously sat at home and thought,

"Oh, we'd like to build this extension."

But by the time they come to us and make the application

they've already - in their mind - gone out and bought the curtains

and the cushions and all that stuff. So when we come back and say,

"No, actually it has to be half a metre narrower",

it's a big deal, it's a big step back for them.

You think, "Did you really not think how it was going to impact on your neighbour?"

So, is it possible to get just one extra room

without falling foul of planning restrictions?

Today the planners will meet...

a couple with a tiny flat

and an innovative plan for carving out an additional bedroom...

-From here to the wall behind you becomes the spare room.

-Mm-hmm.

Which really is going to be quite a reasonable size

by the time it's done.

..and a man who wants one huge room right along the back of his house.

If the planning application is refused, then I really don't

know what we'd do. I think we'd just have to fight, to be honest,

cos I don't think there's anything wrong with the plan.

One person's modernist extension is another person's eyesore.

Will our home owners be allowed to add their extra rooms?

And if they increase their space,

how much value could they add to the price of their homes?

Planners work hard to approve applications but they'll never

accept developments that cause loss of light,

loss of privacy, or clash with a cohesive street scene.

One extra room may feel like a minor change, but planners have to keep

our ever-expanding ambitions under control.

If planning policies and planning control didn't exist

we'd be back to where we were

100 years ago, 150 years ago.

You'd get people building what they wanted where they wanted regardless,

it would be quite a mess.

Carol Boudel works in Hastings - for one of the country's

most forward-looking planning departments.

Hastings is on the south coast.

It's not as famous as Brighton, 40-odd miles to the west,

but it's a place with plenty of character

and some beautiful Regency and Victorian homes.

The centre of town is popular with first-time buyers and commuters,

who can be close to the sea.

A two-bed flat typically costs around £80,000 to £90,000

- a bargain when compared to other towns along the coast -

but space is still limited, and people here are keen to expand.

I'm carrying out a site visit today because I've had an application

for the conversion of a coal shed

or coal cellar to be a habitable room.

It's a bedroom, to enlarge the size of an existing bedroom.

Where's that first drawing that we had, just the sketch?

Drew and Carrie Brooke-Mellor

bought a two-bed flat in a conservation area

close to the centre for £120,000 after relocating from Surrey.

They love Hastings,

but are desperate for planning permission to give them more space.

We moved down here in 2007, having visited...

-early in the spring?

-Yes.

We came down on a day

when the sky was pure blue and the air was so clear,

and Carrie just turned to me and said,

"You want to live here, don't you?"

-And...

-We said yes.

-We said yes!

We saw, well, I saw this flat, I'm afraid I made a very bold decision

and bought it without really showing Carrie it,

apart from a few grotty photographs.

Carrie still works in Covent Garden.

We're three minutes from the station,

and Carrie also likes to swim, so we're three minutes from the sea!

The mad sea.

Coincidentally we're three minutes from the pub, so everybody's happy!

The Brooke-Mellors have had little room for expansion,

but have come up with a really clever way

of gaining an extra room, with its own brand new door and window.

The current project is to generate a guest room

big enough to put two people up in,

cos we use the existing second bedroom as an office.

-It's tiny.

-Tiny.

-Junk room really, isn't it?

Yeah, shabby chic with the emphasis on shabby at the moment.

What we've decided to do is to knock through that

into what used to be the coal cellar,

and create a bigger room here,

but our builder suggested that we try and retain the cellar wall,

as opposed to just boxing it in with plasterboard.

We like quirky, unusual things

that reflect the seaside and reflect Hastings, which is a quirky place.

And so we are going to try and retain that ceiling, aren't we?

Keep the arch, the vaulted ceiling.

Having bought their home for 120,000,

Drew and Carrie plan to spend 10-15 grand on their extra room,

but changes to the exterior of their flat will be carefully scrutinised.

Developments in all of Britain's 9,000 conservation areas

are strictly managed because

of their historic and architectural significance.

It won't actually change the visual appearance

of the building from the outside,

apart from a window and a door.

We're hoping that because we've got the uPVC windows in our bedroom,

that they'll except the uPVC in the extension.

The property is within a conservation area,

it's within the Cornwallis Gardens conservation area,

so its not just any impact

on neighbouring properties and the building itself

but on the conservation area as well.

Well, this is where it is all going to take place -

hopefully, HBC permitting.

That bookshelf there, that's where we hope to knock through.

And a quick trip around the side reveals their hidden space.

Well, this is the other side of that bookshelf,

and this would have been the original entrance to the house

when it had staff.

And it's this wall that's going

to have a lintel put across the top of it,

and it's going to be taken down,

so that effectively from here, to the wall behind you,

becomes the spare room.

Which really is going to be quite a reasonable size.

We hope that the window will be against that wall there, and, er...

-Should be plenty of light then.

-Should give us plenty of light.

The property is divided into flats,

so they have limited permitted development rights

with regards to external alterations,

and they're wanting to put in a doorway.

There's an existing doorway

but no door there, so they want to put this door in and a new window.

It is a uPVC window,

which is normally resisted in a conservation area.

We think between £8,000 and £10,000

to get it to the point where we can start furnishing and decorating it.

We'll be able to have more books, more pictures...

-And people.

-More people! Our families can come and stay,

-which is nice.

-That will be great.

If, however, we don't get the planning permission, well,

we'd have to continue using it for storage,

which is a great shame cos it's a great waste of space.

Drew and Carrie's bid for one quirky extra room

will depend on what Carol sees

when she makes her crucial site inspection.

If their external alterations

don't fit with the council's policy for the area,

then their application will be a no-no.

In densely populated urban areas, adding an additional room

usually requires a clever use of existing space.

Loft conversions have long been popular,

but planners are now seeing an increased number of applications

for basement conversions,

where people dig deep to gain additional room.

With house prices once again on the up,

building work makes sound financial sense.

What this boils down to is everybody is trying to maximise their space

and make the economical solution to actually get the extra space

that suits their particular family unit.

It's not just in densely-packed, urban areas

that families need more space.

Welcome to the Sheffield suburb of Totley,

which lies on the edge of the city.

The area has a semi-rural feel

because of its proximity to the countryside.

But the story in Totley echoes the story up and down the country.

People can always do with one extra room!

Sheffield Council sees a large number of applications

from ambitious Totley homeowners who want to add extra space,

and planner Simon Tucker keeps a watchful eye

on development in the area.

This application refers to a semi-detached house,

that currently has a smaller rear extension.

What the application is for is to convert that extension

and extend that extension

into a larger single storey-rear

that goes across the entire width of the property.

Richard Snape and his family have lived in their Totley home

for the past 12 years.

Richard thinks the house is worth 250,000,

and he's already put a small extension on the back.

But now, he's going for broke.

He plans to spend 25 grand on an extra room -

one huge family area with flexible living space

that will run right across the back of his house.

The room we're in now was built about seven years ago.

We're going to take three quarters of it down

and build the full width of the house to give us

much more living space

and at the end there will also be a very small study area,

which we'll be able to make bigger and smaller with a moveable wall.

There's two adults and two kids in the house,

one of them's a teenager, 14-year-old, he wants his own space,

so effectively the lounge will become the kids' living space

and this area will become the adults' living space...

big sofas, TV-on-the-wall type of thing.

Richard's extra room doesn't require any clever use of space,

it's simply extending into his garden.

But he still needs planning permission.

The new room can't be too overbearing,

or affect his neighbours' privacy,

and the finish must blend in with the original building.

Effectively this extension more or less comes down...

It's going to be built from here,

it will come straight along this line...

..and then tie in with the end of this building,

which is basically four metres out from there

and the full width of the house, which is eight metres.

It will have a flat roof

and there is going to be some bi-folding doors

which will start about here...

and they will come out four metres,

and then the last two metres is brickwork,

so it will be brick-built with a flat roof.

In terms of the design,

it is what it is, it is a simple flat-roof rear extension,

it's not going to win any design awards

and the agent would be the first to admit that.

One person's modernist extension is another person's eyesore.

In the short term, Richard doesn't think his home will be worth

much more than he's willing to spend on the extension,

but it's worth it to get the space for his family.

However he has to be careful with certain design features

if he wants to get the green light.

The neighbours were upset with the last build.

The big window was the problem last time,

it was only a little window originally

and when we decided that we'd like to put a set of patio doors in,

there was an objection

from the neighbour over the fence, he said he was going to be overlooked.

When the building was passed, we were then under Permitted Development

allowed to put the big window in, we were also allowed

to put patio doors in as long as they opened outwards.

And it's been like that ever since cos we've never really got round

to putting the doors in, which we would be allowed to do.

Under this development, on the plans the doors are shown,

and hopefully there won't be an objection this time.

Simon is on his way to conduct his site visit,

and already he's started assessing Richard's design

against Sheffield's planning policy.

One of the potential issues with this extension is the splaying

they're proposing for the rear.

Basically we have a three-metre rule next to the neighbour's boundary,

whereby anything beyond the three metres

we class as an over-shadowing problem.

Now to counter that, they're going up to three metres

up to this point and then they're proposing

to splay it in there at a 45-degree angle.

In terms of our guidelines,

it probably isn't really in the spirit of the guidelines.

Aesthetically it certainly isn't ideal

cos it is quite an unusual feature,

especially for a brick-built extension.

When we're round the back we'll see how prominent that element is.

It's worth noting

that you're entitled to extend up to three metres

on a semi-detached house without even needing planning permission.

Sheffield council advise people against extending

beyond three metres to avoid

overshadowing a neighbour's property.

However this isn't a hard-and-fast rule.

Richard's extra room is big - too big for permitted development -

will Simon consider it absurdly overambitious?

SEAGULLS CAW

Seagulls are in full voice in Hastings, perhaps announcing

the arrival of Carol to conduct

the Brooke-Mellors' all-important site inspection.

Remember, the Brooke-Mellors have a cunning plan for an additional room,

but Carol's concerned about external changes

within the conservation area.

Right, so this is where the wall... Where the window's going.

Yes, in that area there.

We're putting a door in there, which will open out onto the decked area.

So roughly in the middle of there is where the window

is going to go...hopefully.

THEY LAUGH OK, that's fine.

In the pre-planning letter that Bob sent you, you said that

the window should be a sash window, but he's actually redrawn this

as a PVC to match those. Is that a problem?

It could well be, Drew. Out-of-place features

in conservation areas are usually a no-no.

This may be bad news for their application.

I just want to have a proper look from the highway

to see how visible it is and whereabouts it'll be.

So the top of it will be level with that door?

-Erm... Might possibly be a bit lower.

-Right, OK.

-Oh, he's drawn it like that.

-Yeah.

Hadn't actually noticed that.

Is that something you might want to change?

We might drop it lower if you'd be happy with that.

OK, we would need amended plans.

That would probably be better actually.

The main issue is how visible it is from the conservation area.

Right. We can just have a look from where we normally would walk.

Before she leaves, Carol must be satisfied that the external features

won't be too prominent within the street scene.

The main bone of contention seemed to be the window,

and it looks like if I can get Bob to redraw that,

so that it's a little bit lower and works with the sight line,

re-submit them, and hopefully we'll be on our way.

The door is a little bit visible

but then bringing the window down slightly, that will help,

and it's what he wanted or was expecting in any case.

So I'll just have a quick look at it against the policies.

One visit down, one to go.

In Sheffield, Simon has arrived at Richard's to go over his plans.

-..Sheffield Planning Department. Nice to meet you too.

-Come in.

Once again, it's just one additional room, but it couldn't be

more different to the Brooke-Mellors' case in Hastings.

Richard's extra room is a huge box on the back of his house -

but he wants it just as badly.

These are the plans I've got for the general extension.

One quick question I've got for you, these doors here...

Obviously you've got a full-height window there presently,

Are you proposing like a Juliet balcony or...?

-If necessary.

-If necessary?

-If necessary.

If we don't need the balcony, then we weren't going to put it in.

OK.

Simon needs to get a good idea of exactly where the extension will be.

He worries the new design will reduce the neighbours' privacy,

and will look out of proportion with the existing house.

So I presume it's re-utilising this existing wall? But obviously...

Yeah, that stops. That goes, anything from that side that way goes,

-and we'll carry on building from here.

-Yeah, I've got you.

-Do you think they'll be any issues?

-Well, it's early days.

Obviously it's early days on the application at the moment.

OK, that's fine, good.

We've just got to clarify what's happening

with the double doors there.

A Juliet balcony doesn't need planning permission

if it doesn't have a raised platform that projects out.

We'll have to clarify that with the agent,

and probably get it clarified on the plans so it's more obvious.

The increase in the eaves height will have an impact

on the neighbour, but our guidelines

suggest it's within our limits of acceptability

with regards to the impact.

We might get some representations on that

and it might mean we've got to look into that issue more carefully.

I think the overshadowing

will actually be lower than what it is now,

the roof will definitely be lower,

and admittedly the wall goes up about 300mm,

but overall, the loss of light on their side

will be less than what we get now.

Fingers crossed, we get that right decision,

make sure it's for exactly what we want.

The sun is shining in Hastings and let's hope that's auspicious.

Carol's had time to assess the Brooke-Mellor's planning application

against local policy guidelines.

She's now come to a decision.

With this application, the main issue was the conservation area,

because although normally if there's a new window opening,

we'd be looking at any loss of privacy to neighbouring properties.

Because it's set down from the highway

and because it wasn't highly prominent,

or prominent even, in the conservation area,

my recommendation was for approval of the application.

That's a yes for Carrie and Drew!

The phone went yesterday morning and it was the architect's name

that came up on the screen, and he said he'd just heard

from the planning office

and our planning application has been granted.

I was delighted, it's been quite a long time

and it was just really nice to hear the news

and know that we can get on with the project.

It's likely to take two or three weeks to do the work.

So, who knows? We might even

be able to have your goddaughter down in the autumn!

Might be able to, yes. With a bit of luck.

It's what we wanted for this flat

and we're going to have something pretty unique at the end of it.

-I think so, yes.

-It's going to be quite...quite unusual.

Carrie and Drew have got their approval -

providing them with their much-needed room to manoeuvre!

But what about Richard?

If the planning application is refused

then I really don't know what we'd do.

I think we'd just have to fight it

cos I don't think there is anything wrong with the plan,

I think the plan's a good plan, it's got good materials

it looks right, it blends in,

it blends in with the type of house, 1950s semi-detached house...

I cannot see any reason why it would be refused.

Maybe not, Richard, but as planners know all too well,

one man's ideal is another man's eyesore.

This property is at the head of the cul-de-sac,

there's a very good separation distance to the next property along,

so with regards to overshadowing it's not too bad.

They've currently got a full-height window here,

and cos it's going directly onto the flat roof, we're a bit concerned

that might be used to use the flat roof as a full balcony,

so in order to improve on that

we've got amended plans quite quickly off the agent

showing a Juliet feature and railings on that full-height window.

We haven't received any comments from neighbours,

so I'll be submitting my written report,

which is all here,

and my team leader will take a look at it and make the final decision.

You may want to have a quick look

at whether there's a balcony issue or not.

Once senior planner Chris Heeley has studied the report,

the Snapes will receive their decision -

but will it be the one they want?

Simon, it's Richard Snape.

I just wondered now the consultation period was over,

whether you had any news for us?

Yeah, sure...it has been granted, the application.

That's a yes for Richard and the family!

The great big back-garden box can now be built.

Right, fantastic, thanks very much. Thanks for all your help.

Let's get digging.

And that's exactly what they've done.

Fast forward five weeks and the extension is halfway to completion.

It's just a pity the neighbours aren't too pleased.

The neighbours expressed a view to the bricklayers,

saying that it's big, it's ridiculous, it doesn't look right,

it stands out. And at the moment it does look big

and it does look a little bit ridiculous,

cos it does just look like a big brick box.

So this'll be the office area, they'll be a moveable wall,

to make the room bigger or smaller

more the living space, to make that bigger,

if we need to for Christmas and stuff like that.

That window gets bricked up, this window gets made bigger.

The obvious opening for the bi-fold doors.

When you're stood from the outside you can see why the neighbours

have got a bit of an issue at the moment, and because of all the mess,

but once we've had a good clear up -

all the wood's going this week -

it will look a lot better.

It increases the ground floor area of the house...

by about 25%.

The kids will have more space and we'll have more space,

and it'll just feel more open and more relaxed to a certain extent.

Back in Hastings,

Drew and Carrie's extra bedroom is nearing completion.

The stress and upheaval of planning and building has been huge,

but they're close to getting the space they've dreamed about.

Well, we're two months down into the project

since you last came to see us,

and we've ended up with a cellar at the moment that looks like

the inside of the TARDIS or a set from Doctor Who.

I think my goddaughter

is going to be very surprised and hopefully pleased.

I think she will really like the fact that she has got a room to herself.

And we've got a space that we can see as being a quirky, unusual,

wacky, fun place that goes with our style...

and says Hastings as well.

They've knocked through the door. And if you step up onto the floor

the floorboards gone down, this is membrane that's got to come in.

We've got the window way and the doorway here, which is going to

look out onto what will eventually be a Mediterranean garden.

And at the moment looks like a builder's yard.

What they've done is put in the frame for the slope

and also we've got the arch ceiling that we wanted.

That's the whole point of doing... We wanted something unusual.

This is a conservation area,

it's nice to hold the spirit of conservation and try

and keep this character within it.

And how many spare rooms have an arched ceiling and a sloped wall?

I think we'll move in here.

Over in sunny Sheffield, the work is almost finished on the extension.

Richard and his family are about to get the space

they desperately wanted.

Now the doors are in it, it's like,

it feels really good to have it done.

there's a few little things to finish off outside with

landscaping and things like that, but besides that it's good.

Sat outside last night, it was really nice.

And what do you think of the doors?

-Cool.

-They're cool.

If a nine-year-old thinks they're cool, they must be.

It is massive when you're in there.

There's more space than we actually need.

The idea of having all this space is really good.

We just got to decide what flooring to use.

We've got a dark and a light one, I prefer the light one.

Which one do you prefer?

-Neither of them.

-You prefer neither of them, there you go.

If we move round here, this will move backwards and forwards.

So if you want to make the room bigger, we can slide it that way.

We won't really make it any smaller, I haven't of thought, but

maybe in a few years, I don't know, then we can move it the other way.

And we've got plenty of storage and everything on this side.

We've got a desk which fits here.

Just loads and loads of storage space.

Bit of light from the window, which was never on the original drawings.

We decided halfway through to put a window in,

which really strictly we should have done from day one.

and I was advised by the architect to put a window in as well.

He was right. Listen to your architect.

Juliet balcony was part of the planning restriction.

We're having a little bit of a problem of the moment

trying to find one that looks right, to be perfectly honest,

cos there are plenty out there,

but they just don't seem to...just don't seem to look right.

But from the point of view as a structure,

the structure is finished all by the Juliet balcony.

And a couple of little electrical things and it could be signed off,

so from that point of view, I think it's been a resounding success.

I'm 50 in two weeks, so the first thing is my big party.

It's always been in the back of my mind that as long as it's finished

by my 50th birthday, then that will be like the icing on the cake.

So, yeah, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

Richard has planned it, built it.

And what a difference one room can make.

The back extension has transformed the family living area.

It's a huge increase in space and in the long-term should more

than repay the 25 grand Richard spent on it.

Drew and Carrie's extension is almost complete.

They've created a charming and idiosyncratic new bedroom.

And it's a canny investment - carving out extra space

in a conservation area is complicated but clever.

I think it's congratulations all round.

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