Whilst enjoying retirement in the sleepy countryside of Lincolnshire, Dad sadly passed away in 2009 after a short illness, Mum came to live with me in Aldershot; it being her ‘home town’ and I had a large 3 bed house which only my teenage daughter and myself had lived in for many years.  After the cottage in Lincolnshire was sold Mum purchased a nice 2-up 2-down house just two streets away from me.  For almost 10yrs she lived there very happily however her mobility became a little restricted and she began to feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of the house. We considered downsizing to a flat but she would never have been happy with that and there were no small bungalows in the area.  We toyed with the idea of having a log cabin built in the garden but again, this wasn’t something that thrilled her, so we researched on the internet and saw some wonderful pictures and read testimonials from other older people who had moved in to an annex.  Mum was now sold on this idea and couldn’t wait to put her house on the market. We knew it would mean she would have to live with me (my daughter having long left home), although no one could have predicted us having to be locked down together 24/7 whilst the country went into the Covid crisis.  

After struggling with how to actually commence with the project, I completed an online search form, which iPlans responded to.  They were so helpful and immediately arranged for Anthony, the Architect to visit to discuss our “ideas”. Of all the project management companies, iPlans were the only ones who didn’t make us feel that we were dreaming the impossible dream with our project. Mum was the driver of this boat, and having him concentrate on her needs and wants was a priority, which he never failed to deliver. Mum decided on a one bedroomed annex which would look more like a bungalow so wanted a pitched roof, a wet room, separate bedroom, living room and kitchen with room for her small pine dining table. Like many, there were things that Mum insisted on that seemed small but to her they were a must – a cupboard for her broom and hoover in the kitchen and a proper size kitchen.  She now has both – in fact her kitchen is bigger than the one in my house!

As for planning, It was difficult, we weren’t expecting so many objections to our plans from neighbours and some of them caused much upset to us but all along iPlans (in particular, Nicky) were there to reassure us and explain anything that we were confused about. They communicated with the Planning Officer and at times ironed out issues before we were even aware they had come up. There were some changes made to the roof pitch and the width of the bungalow, but these were minimal and didn’t affect the finished look of the property.

”Communication was excellent throughout the whole process.”

We took iPlans advise and used their Inspector, who was happy to liaise direct with our builder. I was sent details of a few builders however, only one contacted me back and they advised they couldn’t come and quote until our Planning Permission had been granted so we identified our own local builder. Mum is very happily settled into her new home and has been busy buying curtains and bedding – oh so much bedding!

Me, well I now have my house back to myself, which is wonderful although I can pop down to Mum anytime, check she has everything she needs and borrow a pint of milk anytime. We are both really happy we decided to engage iPlans and would encourage anyone looking to enter into the world of development to contact them first!

The planning process, no matter what anyone tells you, or you have read on Council websites, is a complete minefield. Each Local Authority has different processes, but none of them are plain sailing for the lay person who just wants to develop their property, build an annex for an older relative or have a garage extension. There are umpteen I’s to be dotted and T’s to be crossed – all of which iPlans did for us, so for us, they turned our minefield into rolling hills and bluebells. The staff at iPlans work tirelessly to ensure their Customer is happy.  Nicky Gillings has the patience of a saint. I would often, when receiving information from our local council and the objections being sent in, become really frustrated, but she was always on hand to reassure and calm matters. Any problems or delays that arose from our local council were dealt with swiftly with minimum disruption to Mum or I.  Even when our world went mad and we were put into lockdown, they continued to maintain contact and update up, meaning we started building on 22nd April 2020.  Mum moved in to her new home on 9th  September 2020 and is very happy and settled.

Without iPlans behind us, we would never have coped as well as we did and the last few months would have been far less enjoyable as they enabled us to just concentrate on the future when Mum would be living in her dream bungalow, which we have aptly named The Bird House.