Blog Archives

Latest Posts

Monthly

Categories

December 14, 2012 - No Comments!

The Warm Home Scheme.

[h6]The Warm Homes Plus scheme provides a range of insulation solutions to homes on a qualifying benefit.[/h6]
[full]
This is a great scheme run by the Department for Social Development and provides a range of insulation and heating solutions for low income house holds. The scheme provides Cavity wall insulation, Loft insulation, hot water jacket, energy advice and a range of heating systems. You may also qualify for installation of a fully controlled, energy-efficient oil or gas central heating system where no system currently exists. Conversion of an existing bottled gas (LPG), solid fuel or Economy 7 heating system to oil. With energy prices constantly on the rise it has never been a better time to check your house is not leaking heat and therefore money.

[h6] The house above shows typical hot spots where energy is leaking from your house. Roof and wall insulation make a huge difference. But as the picture shows UPVC window frames also perform badly. The building regulations call for Low E argon filled double glazed K glass yet the frames themselves are hollow with only two 5mm pieces of UPVC separating inside from out. Putting a high performance material in a badly performing frame is madness. But unfortunately it is hard to source insulated UPVC frames in NI. Wood is a good insulator so hardwood frames are the best choice if you can commit to the maintenance involved.[/h6]

The turn over for the Warm Homes Scheme is quick. The projects we have been involved in have typically had a turn over from application to installation of 5-6 weeks and have transformed the homes involved.

This is a great scheme run by the Department for Social Development and provides a range of insulation and heating solutions for low income house holds. The scheme provides Cavity wall insulation, Loft insulation, hot water jacket, energy advice and a range of heating systems. You may also qualify for installation of a fully controlled, energy-efficient oil or gas central heating system where no system currently exists. Conversion of an existing bottled gas (LPG), solid fuel or Economy 7 heating system to oil. With energy prices constantly on the rise it has never been a better time to check your house is not leaking heat and therefore money.

Insulation makes your home hold the heat better, reducing fuel bills and making the home much more comfortable. A good hot water jacket keeps the water hotter for longer and reduces the time and fuel required to heat the water. Increasing the insulation in your home increases your Energy Performance Rating, a "miles per gallon" for heating your house. Which in turn increasing the value of your home.

It is not that often that the government implements a good scheme that does as intended so we would encourage you to check the website bellow or phone to check if you qualify. If you do, your home will be inspected after 2-3 weeks and the works carried out 1-2 weeks after that. It is only a short phone call to check if your qualify. Perhaps you have an old relative who could benefit from a warmer home. If so, you can arrange the inspection from them.

To qualify you must receive one of the bellow;

  • Income Support
  • Income Related Employment Support Allowance
  • Income Based Job Seeker's Allowance
  • Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (with relevant income less than £15,860)
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Housing Benefit

For more information about the Northern Ireland Warm Homes Scheme, call freephone 0800 988 0559 or apply online.
www.warm-homes.com
[/full]

December 13, 2012 - No Comments!

Redevelopment of Armoy Filling Station Approved

[h6]Demolish shop associated with petrol filling station with all ancillary structures, decontaminate site and replace with new commercial development, supermarket, petrol filling station, forecourt, improve access to site and provide carparking.[/h6]


[full]
Laverty Architecture was pleased to recently gain approval for a new super market, filling station, take away and two additional shop units in Armoy.
A small shop and filling station currently occupies the site and is to be replaced. The new development has been pushed back into farm land which is outside the development limits of Armoy Village. This presented a considerable hurdle to overcome during the application. Armoy sewage works is also at capacity so an on site sewage treatment solution was sought to enable the application to progress. The planners also insisted on an expensive soil decontamination study be carried out before outline approval could be granted. Eventually the department relented and made the decontamination test a condition of approval and the application went to council in November 2011 as an approval. The actual approval documents came through, 12 months later. Just glad to have them after a 3 year frustrating process which demonstrated perfectly that you have to fight to get what the client wants and needs to make such a project viable.

Planning Case Website Link here.

[/full]

Approval Drawings.

November 9, 2012 - No Comments!

Easing of planning rules for farmers, Spring 2012

[full]

Farmers will be able to undertake new build or extend agricultural buildings including sheds for hay and straw, storage and maintenance of agricultural machinery and plant, milking parlours, slurry storage tanks and chicken and other livestock sheds without having to go through the planning application process. Under plans issued by environment minister Alex Attwood, farmers should be able to construct buildings up to 500 sq m without planning, compared with the current  limit of 300 sq m.

"These proposals, which are the most generous in these islands, will eliminate unnecessary red tape to enable agriculture to grow in a challenging economic climate," said Mr Attwood.

"I want to help expand our agri-food business by 40% in the next few years. Increasing the range of agricultural development that no longer needs planning permission will make it easier for farmers to undertake development."

The consultation, which ends on 18 January, also covers things like milking parlours, slurry stores and anaerobic digesters.AdTech Ad

It is anticipated that these proposals will become law in spring 2013.

More info here:  planningni.gov.uk
[/full]

November 9, 2012 - No Comments!

50m Co-Ownership Funding for NI

[full]

The Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association Limited (NICHA) has secured £50m financing deal with Bank of Ireland and Barclays. This  represents the largest single funding arrangement for a housing association in Northern Ireland to date. The deal is aimed at supporting at least 2,500 affordable homes in the next 4 years through Co-Ownership, Northern Ireland's low cost home ownership scheme.

The scheme helps people to own their own homes through equity "sharing", which means part-buying and part-renting the property of their choice. If a person would not normally be able to buy the home they need on a full mortgage, the Co-Ownership scheme enables them to buy as much as they can afford initially, with the option of buying the rest from NICHA at any time.

 

Co-Ownership rents are worked out on the value of the property and the size of the share the participant takes. The larger the share the lower the rent. To start with the participant buys at least 50% of the value of the property, through a mortgage in the usual way and pays a rent to NICHA on the other part of the property. If they can afford it the participant can buy 62.5% or at most 75% of the property at the start. How and when they increase their share after that is up to them - in slices of 12.5%, all at once, or not at all.
Any kind of property may be considered for Co-Ownership anywhere in Northern Ireland. There are limits on the value of properties which are set by the Department and reviewed twice a year. At March 2004 NICHA has had 17,945 participants with 13,799 of them now owning their home in full.With house prices at their lowest. Now is a good time to get your name on the list!

[/full]

[full]

[contentdivider][h6]Contact NICHA.[/h6]

Freephone number 0800 333 644
Email: nicha@co-ownership.org
Website:  www.co-ownership.org

NICHA
Murray House,
Murray Street,
Belfast
BT1 6DN.
[/full]

September 13, 2012 - No Comments!

Solar Farm Approved.

[h6]Installation of Photovoltaic panels to generate electricity, on 13no solar park ground mounting systems.[/h6]

[full]
We just received planning approval for the areas first small Solar Farm. The project is part of an ongoing farm diversification project at Dunamallaght Road, Ballycastle.
Renewable energy technology and the current government grants can help drive down farm outlays as well as helping reaching European targets on emissions & renewable energy.
View Planning Application.
[/full]

September 6, 2012 - No Comments!

Culmore Organic Farm Plans Approved.

[full]

Laverty Architecture just got in Planning Approval for 204 Monocrystalline solar cells to a milking unit on Culmore Organic Farm, Kilrea.
Culmore's organic, pesticides free, low carbon vision of farming is to be commened and it was nice to be part of  the project.  They grow the best spuds in the country in my opinion and I am already trying to think up an excuse to visit David to grab some more.
[contentdivider]

[contentdivider]Culmore Organic Farm's website. http://www.culmoreorganicfarm.com/
[/full]

September 6, 2012 - 2 comments

“An idea is salvation by imagination.” Frank Lloyd Wright.

 [h6]The Fountains at Ballycastle Seafront.[/h6]
I can safely say that my 17month old son's favourite thing in the world is the fountains at Ballycastle Seafront. Although not originally designed for kids to run and play in, it has quickly become a centre of fun and activity on a decent day in the summer. The council spotted this and placed seats around the fountain for parents to watch their kids dart through the fountain. Ballycastle seafront looks better than it ever has with the new artwork, seating signage etc. The fountain area has become the the unofficial kids play area at the seafront. Its somewhere parents can sup a coffee while the kids burn off some energy. There is a great buzz around it on a sunny day.
[contentdivider][h6]The Wee Pier Old & New [/h6]
I have fond memories as a kid playing at the Small pier. Before the  modernization of the harbour the sea was our playground.  Today the town is missing a family fun area where kids can play and parents can relax knowing the kids are safe.

[contentdivider]

[h6]Arcadia Activity Pool Portrush.[/h6]

My kids had a great time in the kids pool at the Arcadia in Portrush and it got me thinking. Something like this would be great at Ballycastle seafront. The Arcadia pool is tucked away out of site and is sheltered by a wall from the onshore winds. An activity pool would present a whole myriad of issues though. The seafront is a large open space which means it can't be tucked away. Some would argue that an activity pool in plane view would detract from the sculpted vistas and artwork.Others would argue that kids are the best form of art and interaction beats appreciation every time.
[contentdivider]

[h6]The idea. Ballycastle Seafront Activity Pool?[/h6]
The sketch in this video is only a doodle and hasn’t addressed the problems building such a pool would raise. How do you secure it at night? Keep it clean? Stop sand blowing off the adjacent sand pit into it? How do you leave space for the amusements? Is it worth the investment considering our weather? I could go on........ but it is an idea and ideas can grow, change and eventually happen.

September 5, 2012 - No Comments!

New Website Live

 

[h6]"If we can design buildings we can design a website. "[/h6]

 
Its been a long time coming, but finally lavertyarchitecture.co.uk is online. I decided to design and build the site myself so I could update it quickly and regularly. How hard could it be, its just like a building. They are both made up of interlinked components which function together to provide a user experience? A tenuous link I know.

 
[h6]Code holds a website together, not mortar and fixings. [/h6]

Thankfully my friend Alex from www.pixelapes.com was on hand to guide and inform as well as fix thinks when I broke them.
Much head scratching ensued, but eventually it all fell into place. It was fun to learn something new and I enjoyed building the site in the evenings. Even pondering a career change until I realised how complicated web design is when you look under the hood of user friendly web design software.
I get great job satisfaction in my job by walking around buildings I designed. Seeing a family use and enjoy spaces you helped them realise is hard to top. I got a little bit of that feeling browsing through my completed website but I think I will stick with my day job.

LAVERTY ARCHITECTURE
2017

Design by Islander