The process of building your new home starts long before you lay the foundations. One of the most important considerations to make is whether or not the land that you’re planning to build your new property on is suitable for your construction project. When planning the build of your own home, there are many different surveys that might be worth getting in order to ensure that you’re protected against future issues with the property and to make sure that everything you do is in line with the laws and legislation that surround protected tree and wildlife species in the UK.
When building your own property on a plot of land, you will need to consider any protected tree species, or wildlife species such as bats and badgers that might be present and how you are going to ensure that their natural habitat is protected throughout and after the construction process.
Biodiversity Net Gain
Part of getting various surveys carried out when building your own property is due to biodiversity net gain. This is a concept where the state of biodiversity of an area is improved rather than damaged when land development projects are complete. It is worth having a biodiversity net gain consultant as part of your project to ensure that the land is preserved as much as possible, natural habitats are retained, and biodiversity loss is prevented. Specialist consultants can provide you with more information on the biodiversity of the area and recommend specific surveys that are worth having carried out in order to preserve it.
Tree Survey
If there are various trees located in the area you are planning on building your home, then it’s worth having a tree survey. This might be a legal requirement if you know or suspect that there are protected tree species in the area. Along with this, it can also help you prevent any issues that might arise from building your property too close to trees, which can cause problems like subsidence when the roots take moisture from the soil around the property foundation. A tree surveyor or arborist is the best professional to conduct a thorough tree survey, which will provide you with more detailed information about the trees in the area and how they will be taken into consideration when building your new home.
Badger Survey
Badgers and their setts are a protected species by law in the UK. If you are building on land where there may be badgers present, or any other type of protected wildlife, then you should have a thorough survey carried out to find out more about where the badgers are and how you should proceed with the building plans to ensure that they remain protected throughout. It’s important to know how your project might impact badgers and other wildlife in the area, what measures you can take to ensure that local wildlife is protected and undisturbed throughout the process, and more. This will help you avoid problems down the line and the risk of delaying your project if you find protected species present during the construction process.
Bat Survey
Another protected species in the UK that is worth surveying for before you start your new home build protect is bats. It is illegal to kill bats or move them from their natural habitat in the UK, so it’s especially important to survey for them if you are planning a project that involves renovating old buildings, which bats are often present in. A custodial sentence or fine are common consequences of harming or disturbing bats in their natural habitat, even if you did so unintentionally. It’s best to have a bat survey carried out by a professional to get more information regarding the presence of bats on the land or in any buildings on it. The survey will also provide you with further information going forward to help you work around any bats that might be present on the plot and ensuring that their natural habitat is protected.
Soil Survey
Boggy land, tipped areas, and running sand are all signs of poor ground conditions that might cause serious issues with your construction project further down the line if you do not investigate them thoroughly at the start. Before you begin the process of construction, it’s a good idea to have a survey conducted on the land itself, allowing you to find out more about what’s present underneath the topsoil, how easy or difficult it is going to be to build on, and if any additional work should be conducted beforehand when it comes to making sure that you are fully prepared for starting your project and the land is safe to build on. This might be a survey that you have done on its own, or as part of a larger land survey that can include other aspects such as odd-shaped sites, obstacles and more allowing you to go into the project fully prepared.
Structural Building Survey
If you are not building your new home from scratch but are rather going to be convert or renovate a derelict property that already exists, then it is worth having a survey carried out on this property before you get started. In most cases, a full structural survey is the best option to get before you start, as this will give you a better idea of the condition of the building and how safe or even possible it is to complete the conversion or renovation that you are hoping for. This survey will give you a more in-depth look into the overall condition of the building including uncovering any issues that might not be immediately obvious when you look at it. This can help you not only determine what kind of preparatory work needs to be done before you can start the project but will also help you budget better.
Whether you are planning to build a property from the ground up on a plot of land or have an old building you are planning to convert, there are various surveys that are worth getting to help you prepare the best way forward.
