In 2005 my wife and I bought a house in a Dorset village with a separate forge in the grounds, and we intend to convert it into a granny annex or office area. At present its use is down as a workshop (i.e. Village Forge), and prior to starting the building project we applied for planning permission with the local council, after several objections to parking problems and neighbours’ concerns over privacy, which we solved, we were eventually refused on the grounds that it was over development of
the area, this reason was not mentioned at all previously. We invited the local conservation official to have a look at the proposed project, he told us that we could do whatever we liked inside the forge but quite rightly could not alter the outside appearance. My wife is an estate agent and several architects have informed her to do the alterations inside and, after several years, apply for retrospective planning! Would this work, and do you think we would eventually be able to use this for accommodation? Are there any ways around the problem? The forge conversion would enable my wife’s mother to live with us – at present, she lives in Leeds and requires daily home help. In addition, do you think we would be eligible for a grant for roof insulation? The walls are solid Dorset Green Stone.