Demand for residential annexes likely to grow
Planners at Berrys have secured several planning permissions recently for ancillary residential annexes to existing larger houses in Northamptonshire, helping provide much needed accommodation for growing and ageing families.
“We have had a number of clients with ageing relatives and growing families that have required additional living space and accommodation,” said Ian Taylor, senior planning consultant at the Kettering office of Berrys.
“Planning policy is all too often geared towards restricting this type of development, particularly for new residential accommodation in the countryside. And in each of the cases the respective Local Planning Authority raised concerns that the proposed annexes would be separate dwelling houses in the countryside.”
Berrys faced difficulties in convincing Councils that the proposed annexes would remain permanently ancillary to the main houses, and not be used as separate dwellings in areas where there are restrictions placed on the creation of new self-contained dwellings.
Planners at Berrys believe that Councils will have to recognise the fact that with an increasing and ageing population the need for such schemes will grow in the future.
“The cost of health and specialist care for the elderly is often very prohibitive, so more and more families will look to provide care and support for their relatives at home,” he said.
“Elderly and infirm relatives who move closer to their families will still wish to retain their independence where possible and it seems clear that a far greater number of residential annexes will be required in the future.
“We hope that planning policy and planning decisions will start to reflect this need,” he added.
Berrys has been successful in securing planning permission for a number of these projects so if you have are looking to enlarge your dwelling or build a new residential annexe contact your local Berrys office or speak to Ian Taylor, senior planning consultant at the Kettering office on 01536 532384 email ian.taylor@berrys.uk.com