here - Huf Haus Owners Group

Issue 2Building a Huf Haus deep in the English countrysideLong before Jan Thurbon even met her husbandRichard she had plans to build her own house.In anticipation of this she had used herexperience as an estate agent to seek out and buya suitable plot and happily lived in the existingColt wooden house until meeting Richard andthen together deciding the time was right to buildtheir own house.Despite being in the heart of the Englishcountryside, in the traditional village of LongCrendon in Buckinghamshire, where the moretypical buildings are centuries-old thatchedcottages, the couple encountered few problems inobtaining planning for their house. In fact thelocal Aylesbury council liked it so much that they gave it an award. So how did Jan and Richardensure that everything went so smoothly for them when other self-builders spend months or even yearsfighting objections and trying to get planning to build their dream houses?Crucially Jan had done her research when she bought the plot and original house. She choose the sitewith care, for a start although in a traditional village it is on the outskirts, situated one but last on a milelong road with mixed housing along it, all with good sized plots. It also lies within Aylesbury Districtcouncil who she knew to be amenable to modern builds.When it came to obtaining planning the couple were asopen and honest with the planners as possible, meetingwith them at each stage through the outline planning anddetailed planning applications, and then again whenaddressing and resolving the minor objections fromneighbours. These objections included the siting of onewindow in particular, which was upheld, to the actualbuilding line of the house, which wasn’t. Neighbourswere invited round and plans were pored over, in order toincrease understanding and minimise objections.Building up a good relationship with the planners isfundamental, the couple didn’t argue with them where it

was unnecessary, although they did stand their ground on certain issues. Jan worked to keep theplanners on side, not forgetting that they are also there to help with suggestions and advice, not just putup objections.Fundamentally Jan feels, they also proposed abuilding that was suitable for the plot. They didn’ttry to build too large a house and sitting in a ½ acreplot the property doesn’t dominate the site.the house as this is a matter of personal taste.As well as developing a good relationship with theplanners Jan also discussed the project with thelocal parish councillors. The chairman pointed outthat the local planning authority actually had noright to complain as the Thurbons were building onthe footprint of an existing building – ‘like for like’and that the law does not allow them to specificallyrefuse an application based on the aesthetic style ofSo from putting in initial planning in April 2003 to obtaining their permission in October took just sixmonths. The only real hold up they had was interestingly because they had to have a bat survey carriedout, by DEFRA at a cost of £1,000, and as the planners only meet once a month they missed twomeetings waiting for the report.The build itself went pretty much according to plan, with the move-in date of 28 th August being metbang on by Huf Haus. By a stroke of luck one of the next door neighbours was relocating to France soRichard and Jan were able to rent that property while their house was demolished and new one built,enabling them to watch the whole processclosely, something that Jan admits she foundmore interesting than she would ever haveimagined!The house is a source of delight for thecouple; they love the light and space and arelucky to have stunning views over thesurrounding countryside. Both traditionalistsbefore, coming from cottages, they aredelighted to have done something new anddifferent and because of their carefulplanning the process went remarkablysmoothly.