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Submit plansWe are currently in the middle of a planning application for our 4 bed detached self build property. It is at the end of an unadopted Lane,which then has a driveway of about 100meters up to the property. We are being told that a fire engine needs to be able to turn around at the property, so not to reverse back down the drive(as if the house was burning down I’m sure reversing back down the drive would be the least of their worries)! Also that building regs state a bin man should not have to walk a wheelie bin over 25m and the occupants of the house no more than 30m. There isn’t room for turning a truck at the property so what are the options?
I’m more than happy to walk the bin to the end of the driveway to put with the other residents bins on the lane. Surely the exercise is a good thing.
Kind regards
Martin
Funnily enough, my house is in a similar situation. I’m at the end of a long unadopted road and every week, I trundle my wheelie bin about 50m to the end of the road and trundle it back when it has been emptied. It can be a pain, and embarrassingly noisy if I’ve forgotten to take it out until late at night, but I think you could argue for an exemption from the planners. Access for emergency vehicles is, however, a more serious concern. I’m lucky – at the end of my lane, there is a turning circle with enough space for fire appliances to turn and you will need something similar because Building Regulations (Specifically Approved Document B5) states: “Turning facilities should be provided in any dead end access route that is more than 20m long. This can be by a hammerhead or turning circle”. It goes on to give the minimum dimensions.
If there is not deemed to be enough room to allow fire appliances to turn, this can be used against you and you will have to come up with a pretty convincing argument to persuade Building Control and the Highways department to give you approval. I’d be speaking to your architect to see where a turning circle can be incorporated into the design and also to Building Control to ascertain their take on the interpretation of the regulations in relation to your plot. You could also take advice from your local Fire Service as they might be able to suggest practical solutions or support your case. In extremis, I have heard of turntables being specified simply to turn emergency vehicles around. That might be the ultimate solution, but as you might guess, it’s not a cheap one.
Mike Hardwick (Build It expert)
The answer may be to install a dry riser at the road end of the unadopted road. A pipe is laid from the dry riser to a hydrant some way up the unadopted road ( I can’t remember the exact distance, maybe 40m). A fire hose can then be run out from the hydrant to the house. This way the fire engine can remain in the road.
We first came across this when visiting a house during Open House weekend in London. The owner, now retired, had spent all his working life in Fire Service management, and has used this system in his own home.
