A new study by metals4U, has found the hardest places in the UK to do a home renovation and the areas to avoid buying or investing in a property. While buying a property and renovating it may sound simple enough, you may need planning permission to make certain changes to your home. According to the Government website, you will probably need planning permission if you want to build something new, add an extension to your home or change the use of your building.
Redbridge approved 62 percent of planning applications, leaving 195 applicants without planning permission.
Most of the most difficult places to renovate a home and add value are based in London.
Copeland in western Cumbria was the easiest area to carry out a home renovation with 100 percent of planning applications being granted.
In Cumbria, property values have increased by four percent over the last year with people cashing in an extra £7,900 on their homes in the last 12 months on average.
Interestingly, a town in the East Midlands, Corby, is the number one spot in the UK for DIY having received the highest number of home renovating requests with 5,377 people applying to upscale their home in 2020.
This was followed by Westminster in London and Broxtowe in the East Midlands which both had over 5,000 applications over a 12-month period.
Paul McFadyen, Managing Director of metals4U, said he has seen an uplift in DIY projects from regions across the UK.
He said: “We are delighted to see so many DIY projects being undertaken over the last year, from home constructions to smaller renovation projects.
“We saw a particular uplift in Cardiff with a 63 percent percent increase in metal supplies demand in January 2021 compared to the same time last year.
“Other locations we’ve seen an increase in demand for metal supplies have been Peterborough, Hove, and Bristol, all increasing by over 50 percent in metals purchases such as stainless steel, aluminium, and copper.”