Log cabin home

[felixthelogchopper]

S42 6RH at the very end ( at the dead end ) of middle road

 

Thanks mate.

[kernowstu]

not really a log cabin but lots of wood,beams,flooring,cladding and a wood burner of 15kw.good luck with planning

[Dean Lofthouse]

Just had estimate back for electric supply to site:

 

£120k

 

They haven't visited site nor studied any power grid maps, they are proposing to bring a new 11kv supply 800 yards from a main road when there's buildings less than half that distance away.

 

I'll have to organise a site visit otherwise the projects dead in the water

[waz77]

Just had estimate back for electric supply to site:

 

£120k

 

They haven't visited site nor studied any power grid maps, they are proposing to bring a new 11kv supply 800 yards from a main road when there's buildings less than half that distance away.

 

I'll have to organise a site visit otherwise the projects dead in the water

 

Is that for NPG to do the work? Could a private contractor do it for less if they were allowed? I know a few NPG linesmen i'll pick some brains.

[Dean Lofthouse]

You can get private contractors in if you wish as long as they are this that and the other qualified I think

[dustydave]

Are they quoting for putting it in a trench as this always seem to bump the price up? I think that they have an average trench cost; which is averaged accross city street/ agricultural field access - hence the high price. I had a quote last year to bring a cable 80 metres away through a field for 10k. Luckily the neighbour refused access in a trench, so I got them to requote this year, bringing the supply via poles to the far corner of my land and have the meter box there - the new quote was for 2k

 

The far corner (nearest pole) is 100metres from the barn, so the lads doing the poles/ connection decided that they'd put the trench in for me (they had a jcb on site for the poles) - took them a day and they refused any payment (great lads!) put 10mm armoured cable in trench (£350), then connected up.

[Tree Man Tom]

We just had a quote for a mains electric supply (we run off generator currently)

 

Surprisingly underground was cheaper than over ground.

[Stereo]

When we put in a supply to our barn conversion we hired a digger and did all the trench work ourselves to spec. They even gave us the cable to lay in and all they did was come out, inspect what we had done, connected it at each end and supervised the back fill and warning tape etc. This was a while ago but it cost very little, a couple or 3 grand I think.

 

On the subject of planning, my advice would be to link it in some way to some form of enterprise, especially if you can provide even temporary work to others. There is now a presumption in favour of sustainable develpoment and what that really means is that you have to show that you are bringing productivity and hopefully employment to your bit of the countryside. If you can throw in some form of public ammenity, even better. The best approach would be to do up a business plan showing why you need each cabin and why you need to live on site.

 

Just buying a field and expecting to get a house on it is pie in the sky in most parts of the UK I'm afraid. I have a field which would be a dream place for a cabin and we are trying to plan out how we can do the above within the regulations. As a parish councillor, I can't just bung one up and go for certificate of lawfullness in 10 years time, tempting though it is. On that note, the law has been changed on this so that a certificate can be refused even after 10 years if the planners can show that you have deliberately concealed the breach (like putting it inside a barn or planting high trees all around it and then cutting them down after 10 years, so take care on that on. It's a new rule so not any precedents yet I believe.

 

As for planners being envious busy bodies, I can see why people think that and surely some are but many are fair, decent people. My motivation for joining the council was not so much to tell people what to do, it was more to make sure we didn't get a council or people who had only moved into the parish 6 months ago. Our primary aim is to keep our nose out of people's business as much as possible.

 

My final point would be that these cabins are stunning and I can see the appeal. But. 20 or so years ago, my Dad gave up farming in a big way and sold off a huge chunk of the farm. Many fields around us have ended up as 'smallholdings' or just people putting caravans, yurts, cabins or whatever on them and to be honest, 90% of these places look like junk yards and are a disgrace and there is little or nothing anyone can do. You cannot blame the planners for not wanting to see this all over the countryside. People dream of owning a couple acres and usually it ends up as a dumping ground with the mandatory shipping container, a knackered Landy and a few rotten tarps floating around the place.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Good point Stereo, I must make the yard Spick and span before inviting any planner to site.

Been down today, tidying up a bit.

First two are before and after, others are my yard and the land.

[Big J]

Nice spot you have yourself there Dean. I'll watch this space with interest!