There is a post (or three....) elsewhere about my saga in Argyll. I fought the (planning) law and the law won first time around. Then I fought some more and I won on Appeal. Silly state of affairs. And I ended up with approval for a bland hut (a log kit) which I never wanted. I went bland to remove design issues from the approval process. Deliberate. Next, I "started" the build (dug a few holes) and notified the council of the start. Then I had my architect draw up a new hut for me. It was a student project for an intern during the summer. I submitted the design (attached) as NMV. I was expecting a ficht but it sailed through in this season of goodwill to all. So, now, I have a hut I can build.
Features:
64m2 footprint
29.9m2 of floor space
7.9m2 of sleeping platform
covered patio / deck (not included in floor space)
thick walls / deep windows
built right to the site boundary (8x8)
a storage area
Some may think the following may be possible.....(you may hear me laughing all the way from here in China....)
storage built into the 1m thick walls so not using valuable floor space to sit cabinets on
shift the windows outward and, as if by miracle, 8m2 of seating / bedding is added (no more floor space)
maybe move the kitchen surface to two of these deep windows and release the floorspace the kitchen cabinets are on
hinge the sleeping platform roof (or open it up for the day a year it is worth it)
Be adventurous and see 30m2 as a design challenge. Some may consider this approved hut to be about 64m2 of usefulness..... 30m2 + 8m2 + 8m2 window seats + 8m2 of patio + 8m2 of storage.
The photo shows where the hut is approved for. Atop a wee hill, looking south down Loch Awe, over a crannog. The white cabin is my woodland workshop / caravan (erected on a moveable base so it is classed as caravan and not hut).
Next is build.
Hi William. 3.6 x 4.8 is fine and you can duplicate or expand or both. When you get permission what you get permission for is a "hut site" where the hut is to be compliant with ScotGov definitions. Expanding (within the definition) is compliant. Duplication may be permitted without asking council: as the Reporter on my appeal stated, this is a "hut site" and can have more than 1 hut as the default position.
I designed this to be compliant and give lots of cavity space for storage, windows for seats. Saves the floorspace for... floor. As said in main post, mines was a long story, a grind. I was not aiming for a cheap simple hut, it was a challenge to get something special in a special spot that I can use a lot of the year. I want a holiday place but do not agree that I should buy a local house, which acts to support higher prices in rural areas and remove stock from locals. I have the simple (in a way) hut: near the site (same woodland) I have a Tuin cabin I built on a frame which makes it a caravan for forestry purposes. 2.2 x 5m. Is fine for 2.
Will build in the summer I think. I'm looking forward to it coming together.