Surveys, Surveys and Covid 19

We've had a couple of surveys done on the site, and the results are in.

First the Asbestos Survey concluded that there's no asbestos on site. That's a relief, as it could have been a real problem. 

Then we had a desk-based archaeological thing done. It concluded that there's an outside chance of disturbing some bones from the old graveyard when we do our footings. Means we will need a proper archaeologist on site during that part of the work. Highly expensive, a bit of a nuisance, but fascinating. :-)

These surveys will go towards the planning decision, hopefully demonstrating our intention to cut no corners. As mentioned, the next planning meeting is on this coming Monday. Any news from that will of course be reported here.

In other news, the council meeting planned for last Monday was postponed due to a Covid scare at the Town Hall. We await news of the rearranged date. A lot rides on these meetings so we're hoping there won't be too much of a delay. Also hoping nobody gets sick.

More soon

(Lack of) Progress Report

We're still on stop, so not a lot to report. Hopefully planning permission will be granted soon - there's a meeting later this month. Then we can get back on site and start the real work. The access road we need so badly is still just a dream, and we're forced to consider Plan B - do everything through the narrow front gate. Not ideal, but would side-step a lot of red tape with the Town Council. For now, we continue with Plan A and hope that common sense prevails and we get access.

My stop-motion camera is still dutifully taking photos of an unchanging scene, and I keep replacing the battery. Perhaps some snowy scenes will brighten up the eventual result.

The electricity people arrived today, dug a big hole and installed our feed cable to the cabinet. In a little while the meter will be installed, and we'll have real actual power to work with. Think we won't bother with gas and the house will be all electrical. Our feed is three phase, so we have the potential to install some very powerful equipment - cookers, kilns etc. We've looked at ground source for heating and decided it's probably worth the high installation costs, as the savings on bills are enormous.

Lyn has begun thinking about how the house will look and feel. It's a bit early for that really, but I am looking forward to seeing what her artistic tendencies will do with such a large canvas.

That's it for now, sorry it's a bit downbeat. I post this the day after yet another national lockdown so it would have been nice to say something more positive. 

More soon, faithful Owlers. Keep your chins up.