It will certainly be a big factor.

The application claims that the current house needs considerable structural repairs (estimated at ?200,000 incl. VAT) because of subsidence. This seems excessive (a builder acquaintance tells me a whole new house could be built for less than that), and does not strike me as an adequate reason to knock the property down, and even less reason to then build something entirely different and out of character. The application states that this cost beacme came clear when the owner applied for a grant for repairs to the house, which I assume implies that he can?t afford the repairs himself (he has been told by the council that his contribution to the grant would be nil). If this is the case, how can he afford to demolish and rebuild?

Typically, buildings insurance covers the cost of subsidence repair (I myself had a subsidence problem a couple of years ago, which was repaired via my buildings insurance - and a subsequent increase to my premium), and if he doesn?t have adequate cover then that?s no reason to just knock the place down.

Even if the place is structurally unsound, replacing a single (albeit fairly large) family house with 11 flats housing 33 people is totally out of keeping with the area!