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Open Mind

New Year, new you

New Year, new start

New Year, new ... whatever

We seem to put a lot of faith into the transformative eruption that comes when poor, tatty ol' 31st December explodes into a bright, shiny 1st January. We set personal goals just for ourselves, to get fit, thin, happy, healthy, save money and be kind. Most of these are admirable aims and you'll be sharing them with millions of other people in that lovely, warm after-Christmas, happy glow.

But YouGov1 asked people to cast their minds back to the beginning of 2024 and say whether they had kept their New Year's resolutions. One in six (17%) said that they had but, of that group, only one in three claim to have kept all of the resolutions they made. And, of the overall group of people quizzed, one in five (19%) admitted that they failed to keep any of their New Year's resolutions.

" It could just be a simple case of challenge and reward. "

So, do we seem to be flirting around the edges of insanity at lea...

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Room At The Top | Part 4 :: And Now For The Red Tape!

Velux Roof Balcony for Loft Conversion

If you've been following the previous instalments of our guide to loft conversion, you've probably already built up a good picture of how your potential loft room will look and feel. But we have often mentioned the need to look at the various statutory regulations (in UK) which come into play for loft conversion projects and we'll give you a quick overview in this issue.

Roof conversion inspiration from Velux
Image courtesy of Velux.co.uk

Regulations

There are two main areas of legislation involved - Planning Permission and Building Regulations. Planning Permission focuses on the look of the project, how it fits in the neighbourhood and how it might affect neighbours, and Building Regulations deal with the safety and structural integrity of any proposed work. There is also good information freely available on the Government Planning Portal by clicking here.

Many loft conversions won't need Planning Permission as they probably fall within permitted development rights, or unless you are thinking of putting in ...

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