Speakers at last weekend’s National Home Improvement Show showed their support for government’s proposals to change planning laws.
Speakers at last weekend’s National Home Improvement Show gave their support to the government’s proposals to allow larger home and business extensions without the need for planning permission.
Speaking to South West Londoner at the event in Olympia, DIY expert and TV presenter Julia Kendall said the plans could help the construction industry and that getting people building again would revive the economy.
“I think it’s a tremendous idea to galvanise people who might otherwise have been sitting on their plans,” she added.
“People imagine that it’s going to be very difficult to get planning permission. I think if nothing else the new relaxed rules will make people realise that they can do what they want to do.”
A month-long consultation is currently under way on the proposal to ease rules, for a three-year period, on developments including home extensions of up to eight metres – compared with the current three to four metre limit on extensions without planning permission.
But Julia, 44, has some reservations about the new rules that could spark feuds between neighbours and lead to rash, botched jobs.
She said: “I have some slight concerns because they are doubling what you can build without planning permission.
“We might end up with the odd carbuncle that hasn’t been well thought through. And there may be issues with neighbours getting upset about what’s being built next door.
“Undoubtedly it will cause some teething problems, but anything that encourages people to enjoy their homes and get the building trade going again is a good thing.”
The mother-of-two is also encouraging other women to have a go at DIY and is writing a book aimed at ladies, with a working title of Grit and Glamour. Julia admits she is very much the man about the house, allowing her partner of 11 years, Andrew Hughes-Hallet, 49, to take a back seat when it comes to DIY.
She said: “Whatever the men can do, we can do too. I’m all for empowering women to pick up the power tools.
“I do all my own DIY at home, my partner just lets me get on with it.”
Julia lives in a self-built eco house on the banks of the Thames with fiancé Andrew, and says anyone can “get green” using the simplest methods.
“People still have this view that eco means you’ve got to have a compost toilet but it definitely doesn’t. It’s getting more glamorous and more acceptable,” she said.
“There are some fantastic ways of making your current house greener and more efficient, which is both good for the environment and saves you money.
“For example, shower heads that add air and reduce the amount of water used. There’s also V Phase, which reduces the current coming into your house. Once it’s been installed you forget all about it and your bill comes down.”
This weekend Julia will travel to Nepal with 500 volunteers, where she will build 40 houses on the mountainside for US charity, Habitat For Humanity.
She said: “Habitat For Humanity is the fourth biggest charity in the States and it’s a really good cause. It’s phenomenal to be part of it.”
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