Planning Permission And Project Managers
Do I need a project manager?
You really do need to employ a project manager if you're not able to do the project yourself full-time. Project managers can be really beneficial and they can be worth their weight in gold; project managers make sure that the whole project keeps going forward even if you're not able to be on the site one hundred percent of the time.
What does a project manager do?
A project manager will oversee all the trades on-sight at any one time and alert you to any issues. The project manager will also ask you for any decisions that need to be made, if any issues do arise throughout the project.
How much time will I need to devote if I'm managing the development?
If you're managing the development yourself, it really is a full-time job. I you're overseeing the project yourself, you need to be there early so that you're meeting the tradesmen as they come onto the site. You need to be responsible for the whole period of time while work is actually being carried out at the property, so overseeing the project really needs to be taken very seriously, as a full-time job.
How can I find a good project manager?
Good project managers can be quite hard to find. You need to have somebody that is experienced, and is also experienced in the type of project that you're actually developing. Now, a lot of good builders will be able to put a full-time project manager onto the project for you, but you really need to do your research. Ask around. And a good referral from somebody that you've spoken to is best way of finding anyone, be it a project manager or trade or an actual builder to do the work for you.
How much will a project manager cost?
A good project manager will cost anywhere between 10 and 20% of the total project value. And the cost of a project manager will depend on the complexity of the project that you're actually asking them to do. Now, obviously, it's not going to be quite as complicated if you're just knocking a wall down and painting and refreshing a property as it would be to actually build a brand-new property from scratch. So the cost of a project manager really does depend on the circumstances, but you do need to budget somewhere between 10 and 20%.
What is planning permission?
Planning permission is something you need to seek from the local planning authority so that you are allowed by law to plan to build a property in that particular area. It might be that you are looking to knock a premises down, to rebuild something on that site, or it might just be a small extension to an existing property. But you do need to seek planning permission; you need to submit the plans for that development to the planning office. And what the planning office will then do is notify the residents in the area and ask for any objections that they might have to that planning permission gaining consent. And only when you've gone through that process and you have gained planning permission, should you actually be developing anything at all. So it is very important to have planning permission before you actually start the build. If you don't get planning permission before the build, you could be told to demolish any building you've done. So it's really important you get planning permission sorted out up front.
When should I apply for planning permission?
You should start applying for planning permission as soon as you can, but you can also start to ask the council about regulations that they have in place before you actually buy the plot of land or the premises that you're looking to develop. You can make an inquiry to find out how likely they will be to grant planning permission and that can help make the decision whether or not to buy it all in the first place. As soon as you have bought the property or land you need to get planning permissions in place before you start any work, otherwise you're going to have to put it all down and start again once you've got planning permission and the council is not going to be very pleased with you at all. It could cost you a lot of money.
How can I ensure I get planning permission?
There's no guarantees that a property will get planning permission. There's a few things that you can do beforehand. One is to check with the planning office to see if any permissions have been refused in the past. Now, if it has been refused in the past it will actually list the reasons why it has been refused, and that in itself might put you off actually buying the property. The other thing you can do is contact the council to find out what they require to get the plans through. They might be able to give you a little bit of help and advice before you actually put the plans in, and you can modify your ideas to meet the requirements of actually getting those permissions through.
What are planning regulations?
Planning regulations are the sets of standards that you need to adhere to when you are putting planning permissions in, before you develop the property.
What are building regulations?
Building regulations are the sets of standards that you must adhere to, no matter what building work you're undertaking, and you need to get a building engineer to come in and sign off on these building regulations before you can complete the build. The problem a lot of people have is they do works on their own properties without building regulations, and then they can't sell on, for example, an attic conversion as a bedroom. So, there are real issues if building regulations aren't adhered to, so make sure that you do get the building officer in straight away when you're getting your property developed.