Joseph_Pestell

Had a pint this evening in Bournemouth. A rather spectacular Brewhouse in Commercial Rd called In Pursuit of Hoppiness.

The brewhouse is in what was a passageway through the building but is in full view of the bar. A range of eight real ales all brewed on the premises or at their sister establishment in Poole plus about 12 different keg craft beers, British, US, German & Belgian.

Unfortunately, I was driving but next time I may just have to book a room at a nearby hotel!

Not the best Bond but probably not his fault. The films were a bit silly at that point.

He was at the same school as my father, one year below.

I think the preconceptions about Aldi and Lidl have changed. We do a lot of our shopping at Aldi as not only do they offer very competitive prices I also find that the quality of most of their wares is excellent. And I don't mean excellent for the price, I find many of their goods are excellent if compared against much more expensive stuff from M&S and Waitrose. I have no issue being seen in Aldi and looking around me when I go there their customer base is far removed from the old stereotypes.

Lidl has some very good stuff that yo don't even see in some of the mainstream shops e.g. roo steaks. We had a shop close in Shaftesbury recently (formerly Somerfield, Coop) and I am hoping that will become an Aldi.

No it wasn't. It was pointed out amongst the objections that there were three other Tesco outlets within 1 mile or so and several other convenience stores even closer, some within easy walking distance and the provision of convenience stores was higher than average.

Using that argument you should provide one on every street corner and they would still get customers.

 

The problem these days is providing "easy" parking at these stores, thus encouraging the idle b*ggers to drive 100 yards to get a packet of fags.

Hardly anybody walks there even though it is a mainly fairly built up area, jumping in the Chelsea Tractor is just so easy.

 

All that happens is the customer base is spread ever thinner amongst the remaining stores.

It would be interesting to find out how many customers previously used one of the other, slightly further away, Tescos as well as the other local shops.

It's quite a small Tesco so doesn't really have a great deal more than the other shops have.

 

Keith

 

EDIT there is a full size Sainsbury's well within the mile and it has a huge car park which is never full.

Dave said that the Tesco was needed where he lived. He did not comment on yours.

 

There is a theory among many of the local architects that the reason CBC have such a high refusal rate and so many Appeals against them, is that it is cheaper to refuse and go to appeal and lose than it is to train and keep competant staff. The planning inspectorate is the one that makes the final decision based on policy.

Have you considered building elsewhere? It does seem that you have a particularly "difficult" LPA.

It seems rather unlikely that it costs less to lose appeals than to have competent staff. I think it's more a matter of "politics" which means that the LPA say it's not their fault that x got built.

But they always have that get-out. Our Town Council frequently voted "no objection" to plans that we did not like at all but which had no grounds for refusal in planning law. The District would then turn them down and lose at appeal. Our Town Council of inexperienced "amateurs" seemed to have a better understanding of planning law than the "professionals" at District.

I'm guessing that what you don't realise is that as part of the application process we have to pay for the pre-application advice that we have to have as part of the process, also here in Central Beds you have to pay for all costs to the council of a legally binding agreement should you be liable for Section 106 before the application is accepted, not after but before.

 

I would love to say about an application I had a few years ago but probably best not to name.   The basics of it are that I purchased a site with existing permission and a few conditions of which none were onerous and should have been dealt with in 28 days. It took over 12 months and ended with a meeting between myself, Enviroment agency, Footpaths and Planning,  the result of this meeting was one officer had an official warning, another was demoted and subsequently sacked and there was an inquiry into other applications the agency's had been involved in.  The most senior planning officer had attended the meeting and apart from asking the initial question I said very little, give someone a shovel and they dig a hole it seems. He was horrified at officer behaviour and I had a most profuse apology. Procedure was subsequently tightened. That episode of incompetancy cost me between £8-10,000.

Charging for pre-application advice is, in my view, counter-productive. It results in people putting in applications which would be better avoided.

I don't think that what they are doing is legal if they oblige you to have pre-app advice and still more illegal to charge you for an agreement which may not even be applicable.

Yes, although disconnected a couple of years ago, it's just 4 feet away in the road.

 

It's 3 feet when you take into account the cellar....I could tunnel it

Disconnected gas supplies are often the most dangerous when it comes to unexpected demolitions.

Local authorities don't have any money except that which we taxpayers give to them. Are you seriously suggesting that all us taxpayers should be paying vast sums to property developers if the planning system isn't instantly able to give them an answer?

 

Over the last few years most local authorities have had massive spending cuts. While over the last few decades planners have been near-universally reviled: who would choose a career as a planner, if constant public humiliation will be their lot (see numerous comments above implying that planners are corrupt)?

 

We are now simply reaping what we have sowed.

 

Paul

That's not quite true. Local authorities have various sources of income - sometimes controversial as per Spelthorne.

But we can agree that they are usually short of money. So it makes no sense to spend money on planning appeals that they are certain to lose. But they do!

And no. I am not saying that they should compensate developers for unreasonable and unnecessary delays. I am suggesting that if the law obliged them to pay compensation they would make more effort to deal with planning applications in a timely fashion. I totally get (having been involved in one myself) that major planning applications need a lot of time. The sort of application that Dave is making (single houses and conversions) does not.

I have a handmade scissors and I'll try and put my hand on the wiring sketch I made up.

 

Essentially you need to fully isolate the diamond and then wire opposing points as you would a crossover and energise the diamond with a motor activated switch (I'm using Tortoise) The Diamond is then dead when not switched.

 

That's if I've remembered it correctly.....

I agree with this approach.

Diamonds rarely exist on their own. Consider it as part of a route and it becomes easy to switch polarity of the crossings on the diamond in conjunction with moving the points.

That's exactly what I ask of the planners, but most objections from neighbours are because it looks like an "Alien" building and nothing like theirs so they plump for the vernacular style which doesn't always suit modern materials. If you think of metal/Crittal windows in 30's housing this is very difficult to replicate now unless using the most expensive glazing possible (X9 costings).

 

The next project is being discussed, so it blends in without it being an imposing structure I am looking at a single storey structure, clad in something like Spruce or Cedar and with a flat Sedum roof so that the only house nearby looks at a green space from the upper floors rather than a tiled roof. The neighbours seem enthusiastic  as it will only just be seen and being timber and green will blend in better. The surrounding properties are Victorian cottages, 1960's terraced (poor quality council build) 1990's and 2000's semis's and detached, the closest is 100' away.

 The planner is already murmering about having brick face and a hipped roof as that is what surrounds it. This is down a private road and can't be seen from the public highway and is only visible from the rear of most of the surrounding properties so I can't see his viewpoint.  Like most other applications I reckon we'll be in planning for upwards of 12 months wih this one, the shortest so far has been 10 months and the longest 3 years, none of them were contentious applications but that is just the way it is.

And until local authorities are made to pay compensation to developers for these entirely unnecessary delays, the situation will continue. No minor planning application should need more than three months to resolve.

Part of the problem with Brown field development is when it is a single site adjacent to existing commercial/factory sites.  An example in this town is a cosmetics company that closed ( moved to Poland) and the site lay empty for some time, it was the only commercial site on one side of the road with factories on the other. one of these is a concrete block plant which runs 24 hours a day. The site was listed in the 10 year plan as residential so Kiers purchased, Sound/noise surveys were carried out and as a result mitigating measures to reduce noise were taken into account in the design of the site. It then went through the normal planning process and was given permission. When the first occupants arrived (Social rather than purchased) within a week there were complaints about noise from the concrete plant and the enviromental health officer issued a notice to the factory to reduce the noise. The only way was to cease production overnight but as it is a 24 hour a day operation that isn't possible as the kilns would cool. 

The existing factories had objected to the residential infill as they feared that the 2 don't mix. It was settled eventually with the plant production continuing as before. The housing association offered a rent reduction and the complaints stopped overnight.

 

An issue with renovation is that no matter how much money you throw at some houses, they just don't come up to a reasonable standard.   At present my project is a shop to house conversion, it is near the station and there are now parking restrictions outside to stop commuters parking on the street and blocking the road, this meant that as a retail premises it had no value as it is isolated from the main town area. Built in 1875 it has had very little, if any money spent on it,  and now has severe structural problems due to damp rotting the internal timber structure. It was unmortgageable and so had trouble finding a buyer. I purchased it and after negotiation got planning permission for its conversion. It is 2 storey (3 with the cellar) and has 10' ceilings, at 800 square feet internal it isn't huge but by stripping the building completely and reducing the ceiling height to just under 8' I am able to get a 3rd floor in and increase it to 1200 square feet making it a decent sized 2 bedroom house. I will deal with the structural stability and when finished it will be insulated to modern standards with an efficient heating system and hopefully somewhere nice to live. But with all this there comes a marmite decision. As it is opposite the oldest house in sandy (1500's) then the conservation officer got his way in making me keep the shop front, so although a house it will have a wall of glass on the pavement.  I'll do it but it is a PITA getting all that glass through building regs as it leaks heat.

The comparision with new over renovation, is that had I been able to demolish but rebuild exactly to match, then the cost of the new would have been 60% of the cost of the renovation, and a better end result.

Is there a gas supply to the property?

Regional news today that families are asking for the area around the Floating Harbour to be made safer after man's body found (the third this year to drown there).

What exactly do they have in mind? It's water, it's deep, and it's been there for a long time. I used to drink in a pub on Prince Street every evening but I never fell in.

We have had more than our fair share of battles with local planners and conservation officers over the years.

There is not much wrong with the regulations and guidance, some of which has been modified in recent years. The problem mainly arises from bizarre interpretation of the regulations by some planners, and hopeless inconsistency. It's the inconsistent decisions which lead to people believing that corruption is involved.

While I don't condone builders/developers who build something that has not been permitted, it is often the best solution if you want to bring the planners to their senses. Enforcement action is costly so they have to be very certain of winning before they will go down that route. So a retrospective application will often pass when an application made before building would not.

Discussing this last week with a local builder, we both agreed that it is usually worth including something in the plans that you know the planners don't like. So he often puts in applications for dormers on jobs where all that is wanted is a Velux rooflight. The planners, happy that they have "won" on the dormer, let other things go.

There are places where "garden-grabbing" is acceptable. With a suitable new access road, why not create infill housing where neighbours with large gardens are agreed about it. But that is quite a different matter from the sort of shed that Horsetan is having to put up with in his neighbours' gardens. LB Barnet should be threatened with legal action if they do not act in accordance with the law and enforce against these people.

Finally, I do have evidence that corruption occurs. But it is rarely of the direct "used fivers in a brown envelope" kind. It is more about favours and influence.

As and when I get around to the big layout build, I think that I will invest the time in making up a jig of my own to thread longer lengths.

Just wondering how difficult it would be to use a DTSO as an autocoach while waiting for the rest of the unit.

Sadly Swanage Railway doesn't have any undercover storage, Carriage & Wagon restoration is in either the Goods shed at Swanage or the open air. 

Surely would not be too difficult to construct a carriage shed over the sidings at Harman's Cross.

For some strange reason I have a fascination with street running trains. There's just something about a train at Weymouth Quay running along the road I find very interesting.

So other than the obvious Weymouth Quay were there any other examples in the U.K.? Especially ones that lasted into the diesel era? The only other two I can think of are the bridges at Porthmadog and Ribble steam railway. Any others.

Talking of Weymouth, the ferry terminal on the platform at Weymouth Harbour is up for let at the moment. Not quite sure what one might do with it.....

Well someone had to show a Bedford VAL at some point !

Here's two, half of the four owned by Wessex of Bristol.5564196902_5ccbe98602_o.jpg

My school bus (1964) was a Bedford VAL, but not with a coach body like these. Belonged to the Bookham Coaches off-shoot of H R Richmond, now Epsom Coaches.

I think the unpredictability of our weather must be causing great difficulties for the bird population.

There was a starling (??? as I am no ornithologist) having a feeding frenzy yesterday on our grassed parking area. The rain had clearly brought worms to the surface.  But what has he been able to feed on during the past few very dry weeks?

I think gamekeepers should be poisoned and shot.

You like to make absolutely sure, don't you.

I have looked out a few more of my modest efforts.  The first is from the last time I went to the North Weald rally, in June 2013:

 

North Weald 2013 010.jpg

 

Even longer ago was my last visit to the Sandtoft Gathering.  This from July 2009:

 

Sandtoft July 09 002.jpg

 

And this:

 

London 1812.jpg

 

Finally for now, we find this in Minehead in September 2007:

 

DSC_0004.JPG

 

Chris

Love that Harrington Cavalier. I  think that Harrington were among the most stylish coachbuilders, both here and their French vehicles built IIRC in Dieppe.

A modern adaptation on a far older Foden chassis and I don't think there were any original 'bus bodies on Foden steam chassis (especially that one) although 'bus bodies were definitely built on Sentinel steam chassis well into the inter-war period. 

You really wonder why someone would do this. If they want a steam bus, why not build from scratch?

I'm not into buses but have really enjoyed this thread. The trouble is that I remember many of these type of buses shown being in service!

 

It's nice to know so many have been preserved. Unfortunately there don't seem to be any shows of these vehicles in South Wales.

 

Dave

 

p.s. I have a soft spot for Cardiff Trolleybuses which I well remember. 

I'm sure that I have seen details of a bus rally in South Wales.

There were plenty of Welsh vehicles at the Bristol Bus Rally last year (June?). Takes place at the Park+Ride on the A4 towards Keynsham.

Just looking through Rightmove for a commercial property and seen that a well-known model railway (and other models) shop is currently available.

I think that it is in premises that are rather too large for its current business. If there was someone on here interested in joining with me and another business partner, we could perhaps engineer an interesting deal.

As ever, the stumbling block is likely to be stock value with Hornby devaluing the stocks held. But cross that bridge when we get to it.

Please don't discuss on here. PM me.

Other Nord depots had similarly magnificent structures.