Disability adaptations and Planning Permission

[Steve Walker]

Hi gang -

Elderly relative needs some home adaptations to cope with wheelchair access (disability is permanent). Sole entrance to home (semi-detached bungalow in Leeds) is through a small enclosed timber porch (1m x 1.5m) - this has narrow doors and changing floor levels etc, will be virtually impossible for an elderly carer to get the wheelchair through it.

Ideally, we need to get this porch replaced with something a bit more wheelchair friendly - eg concrete ramp from driveway to wider outside door, a continuous floor level with the rest of house, and the inner door widened or removed altogether. Construction needs to be quick and reliable, but could comply with whatever specs were reasonably required. I'm guessing it might be best approached as a mini-conservatory, eg fabricated from standard upvc panels.

Now the tricky part - in order to have enough space to manoeuvre the chair, the porch would need to be about 500mm deeper, but this would make it project beyond the 'building line' in that street (eg the frontage of the houses). Simple sketch at

objections would be made by neighbours, but is this likely to be a problem for planning permission etc? Is there any flexibility or dispensation for disabled access? We really need this built in the next

4-6 weeks for hospital discharge, so can't wait a long time for approvals and committees. I know there are grants available, but there's no point in applying unless it's a realistic option.

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice -

Steve

[Mark Spice]

I don't know about the planning issues but make sure that your relative applies for the council tax reduction that is available for adapted homes. Not many people seem to know about this but I got it by making a ramp out of the patio doors for my son and the reduction was back dated by 18 months.

if the house has been adapted for wheelchair use the property can be downgraded by 1 council tax band. This is independent of council tax benefit and is not means tested.

Hope this is helpful.

Cheers

Mark

[Roger Mills (aka Set Square)]

Go and have a word with a Planning Officer at your local council, taking photographs of the existing setup and sketches/rough plans of what you want to do. He/she will advise you what their policy is - so you will get a good idea whether an application is likely to succeed. You'll still have to make a formal application of course - which takes several weeks to determine because there is a statutory requirement to display notices for so many (28?) days, to give people an opportunity to object. If you go ahead without waiting for permission, you run the risk of being forced to tear it down again.

My guess is that the planners will be sympathetic - but they'll insist that you follow due process.

[Steve Walker]

Thanks Roger, that's very helpful.

[Steve Walker]

Very much so, Mark. Thanks!

[dg]

A planning application would be free for this work, and would typically take upto eight weeks. Also, if you can go via the local Social Services or Housing Dept (under CSDPA works- The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act ) then they will do all necessary work and get permissions for free.

With regards to planning, there will be some leeway in allowing for works for disabled people. The works have to serve a function, which may not be the most desirable visually, but necessary for the purpose.

Either way, the 'building line' is not something that can never be crossed.

dg

[Roger Mills (aka Set Square)]

That's a novell use for patio doors!

[Steve Walker]

Thanks dg - that was the critical issue, really.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|dg wrote: | |> Either way, the 'building line' is not something that can never be |> crossed. | |Thanks dg - that was the critical issue, really.

Still worth asking, the planning people. I have seen porches projecting in front of a line of houses, so the official building line may not be the same as a line drawn along the front of a row of houses.

[Peter Crosland]

A word of caution. The reduction will not apply if you simply make the entry wheelchair accessible. The changes need to be more extensive internal alterations.

Peter Crosland

[nightjar]

Do you have to have the porch? If you took down the existing porch and simply installed the ramp, that could almost certainly be kept within the existing building line. If the height were no more than that of an ordinary step, the carer could step onto the pavement, if necessary, when making the turn.

You will have to wait for approvals and committees if you want to do something that requires planning permission, or risk having to take everything down again. However, it is possible that removing the porch and installing a ramp might not need it. The only person who can tell you is your local Planning officer and, whatever you do, you should speak to one as soon as possible.

Colin Bignell

[manatbandq]

MBQ

[Mark Spice]

> /disabled-persons-relief

In our case all I did extra to the house was to make a wooden ramp to enable Philip to get into the back garden. However we do live in a new house so all the downstairs doors are wheelchair accessible. In fact it turns out that we didn't need the ramp, or wheelchair, to qualify as the use of an internal, special chair was deemed to be enough. I was very surprised at the speed of assessment as it only took a couple of weeks between applying and receiving a cheque for the backdated period.

If you had enough time you could apply for a disability facilities grant from social services at the council. However this involves a lot of paperwork and will take a number of months to complete.

Cheers

Mark