The thing that really makes me hold back is the thought of having perpetual cooking smells in the living room if a kitchenette is formed in it while a bathroom is made in the former kitchen. The best answer has not hit me yet.
I went to the City Chambers on Saturday morning. Their helpfulness took me by surprise. A drainage engineer was consulted about the swap; he, in turn, consulted a large library of assorted books containing the drainage details of each house in the city. While there I noted his plan of Dean Village indicates a proposed housing scheme, complete with playground on the wasteland opposite the windows of No. 39. Until this chap has inspected the flat, we cannot progress the scheme.
Friday morning I went to see the City Architect’s Planning and Grants bloke to give him my application for aid/assistance, together with two quotations – £375 or £350. He especially recommended the first plumber (£375 less £45 if we don’t want a new sink). This plumber appeals to me as a capable bloke. We will know more about this application by next
Friday when the Dean of Guild Court has considered it.
The final solution was to take a small slice off the living room for the bathroom. It would have a sliding door & for some reason was required to have a frosted window onto the living room. (We dealt with that by placing a large painting by an artist friend over the window.)
The court granted us a full award, repayable over eight years.