Dirty trick No. 7:- The original wall of the property no longer exists

Sometimes a PD house extension is to replace a previous house extension where the original wall has already been knocked through or removed. Some Planners and Council lawyers have had the view that as the dimensional constraints for the PD extension is referenced off an original wall, the new replacement extension is not considered PD as there is no original wall left to measure it from.

The fact that the original wall may still existing at the first floor level or could even have wall returns at the corners or a central pier does not seem to prevent them from coming up with this stupid and obstructive viewpoint.

Suggestion:- Most planners doing their site visits only look at the property externally and often from a distance of from the highway only. Therefore show on the application plans that a large part of the original wall is still in place for the existing or survey plans to overcome this technicality.