I'll try to cut a long story short -

Basically, there is a 2-bed house across the road from us that is currently rented out. The owner has been trying to get planning permission to build another 2-bed house on the side of it (turning it from a semi into a terrace), but this has been turned down and he's made an appeal. Late last year, the house went on the market at £309,950, with the details saying it could be extended into a 3 or 4-bed (subject to planning), but was later taken off. This week, the house has gone back on the market with another estate agent at £204,950, but the details say that the garage and the land around the garage are not included in the sale.

Any ideas what the owner is up to? Mr Catso and I have been scratching our heads over this one...

My first thought is that the owner is planning to either sell off the land as a seperate building plot, or is planning to develop the land himself... Watch his space for planning apps!

Yep, I think Donnadonna might be right. The owner might be getting a planning app for a detached house on the plot. Interesting!

Mr Catso reckons the owner might try to sell the garage and land at a later date to whoever buys the house, assuming he doesn't get his planning permission (I checked the council's website and he's been applying to build something there since 2002 - I'd have given up by now!).

Catso, if I'd only been trying since 2002, I wouldn't give up now!

There is obviously quite a bit of money to be made there and current government policy is set on creating higher-density housing, especially on brownfield sites. (Save the Greenbelt and all that!)

That means that planning apps which seemed unsuitable at the time will now be nodded through so that every inch of space can be used.

I read yesterday in the Times that the density of new builds 10 years ago was a lot fewer houses per hectare of land than it is now.

That's why we are getting lots of houses crammed onto small spaces and very close together, even so-called 'executive' homes (remember the thread about new build nightmares?)

The estate where I live was only built 4 years ago, but the builders managed to cram in an extra house (which was not on the original plans), just by shifting a few closer together.

I bought off-plan and I remember thinking, "that house wasn't supposed to be there!" And the Post Office refused to acknowledge it existed and refused to deliver mail to it. How weird is that?