We submitted our plans to the planners in early December 2010. All seemed to be going well until, at the very end of the process, an issue was raised with our plans to externally insulate and render.
In the end, the planners have allowed us to render the back and side walls, but we had to agree to brick slips on most of the front elevation. After looking at some rather hefty brick slips, we finally found some slim, light-weight ones that we were happy with. The slips will add some extra cost, as if super-insulating a whole house were not expensive enough!
Interestingly, it appears that one could render the whole of a brick house such as ours under permitted development rules, but if you wish to add external insulation as well, a rendered finish would not be allowed. (Why?)
In my opinion, it should be the opposite way around - permitted development rules should not allow an uninsulated solid wall house to be rendered unless it is also insulated to a suitable level at the same time. This would ensure that thermal comfort and risk of fuel poverty are addressed when essential maintenance or aesthetic improvements are carried out.
