Here is the Twelveth chapter of the CPU Enterprises Story which was originally sent in the CPU Spring 2011 Newsletter - emailed out to customers on 05.06.11. Written by Peter
You may remember in the last instalment that, for various reasons, we decided to leave Peterborough Market and concentrate on the Internet.
The next big step was to get planning permission for a small warehouse in our back garden, which, after a tense wait, we got. Our contract on the market was due for renewal, and we did not really want to commit to another years rent, so the building needed to be built at the speed of a really good couple of brickies. We found a young Italian builder who was trying to make a name for himself and, guess what, he had two brickies who he said were "the best in the area". I believed him and for once I was right, they were all geared up ready for when that planning permission came through.
They were up to shoulder level when a visit from the Building Inspector threw a spanner in the works when he asked "where are the window openings?"
The builders had been working from our original drawings but we had been advised to use an architect for the planning application. We had assumed they would be the same but 'prettier' and had been asking the architect for a copy of the final plans for quite a while. It was only when the Inspector showed us those final plans that we found out they were very different from what we were building. Not only had he put windows in a warehouse which was going to be lined with shelving, but he had put only a single door entrance (impossible for lugging big sacks of parcels through) and used different bricks.
"Stop Building" was the instruction from the inspector.
So I now needed to go begging (which is something I'm good at - ask Dianne) to the planners to try to come up with a compromise. It worked - they allowed us to lose the windows, double the door width and carry on with the same bricks, but we did have to agree to render the outside and paint it with a colour and brand of their choice. This turned out to be the most expensive paint available in a 'lovely' terracotta.
From then onwards things progressed at the speed of light. The builders were all and more than they had promised, they even rendered the outside at no extra cost (beat that).
But did we get it done in time?
Find out in the Summer Newsletter.
Chapter Thirteen of the CPU Enterprises Story
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