Field behind our property will be a housing estate
Discussion
A local building company has had their planning application to build 170 homes in a field behind our house granted. Despite numerous objections, it looks like the council have gone ahead and granted the application as long as the builder bungs them £200,000 and builds 55 affordable homes.
Along with other queries (which haven't been answered), we have concerns because the plans involve raising the height of the site. The field (which we are separated from by a ditch) currently sits slightly below the height of the end of our garden. The field is a buffer zone that was designated as a no building area in the local plan. It's supposed to separate houses (like ours that have been there since 1937) from an industrial area. Also, there doesn't seem to be much provision for services (doctors, school etc). However, this issue and many others have simply been ignored and pending a final point relating to section 106, the houses will be built.
What is most annoying is the fact that despite the objections, this is still going ahead. I'm not surprised though. The head of the department has been mentioned in the local news a lot recently because of odd decisions and the state of our local town. He threatened a couple who had built a wooden playhouse in their garden for their kids with the might of the legalities of planning. And recently, an article appeared which claimed he was removing planning comments from our local council's online system that were against an industrial build.
This bloke presides over a department has seen the opening of loads of European mini markets and gambling shops in the local town, whilst other types of shop have closed. It's been trashed. He is also supposed to be in charge of waste and litter control etc, but the town is a right mess (spit, urine, dog s
t and litter everywhere).
Based on the above, I'm not hoping for much. But is there anything we can do to appeal this decision? The outlook down our garden is currently beautiful and the field is full of wildlife. However, this will soon be converted to concrete and brick and will be utterly ruined.
Thanks all.
Along with other queries (which haven't been answered), we have concerns because the plans involve raising the height of the site. The field (which we are separated from by a ditch) currently sits slightly below the height of the end of our garden. The field is a buffer zone that was designated as a no building area in the local plan. It's supposed to separate houses (like ours that have been there since 1937) from an industrial area. Also, there doesn't seem to be much provision for services (doctors, school etc). However, this issue and many others have simply been ignored and pending a final point relating to section 106, the houses will be built.
What is most annoying is the fact that despite the objections, this is still going ahead. I'm not surprised though. The head of the department has been mentioned in the local news a lot recently because of odd decisions and the state of our local town. He threatened a couple who had built a wooden playhouse in their garden for their kids with the might of the legalities of planning. And recently, an article appeared which claimed he was removing planning comments from our local council's online system that were against an industrial build.
This bloke presides over a department has seen the opening of loads of European mini markets and gambling shops in the local town, whilst other types of shop have closed. It's been trashed. He is also supposed to be in charge of waste and litter control etc, but the town is a right mess (spit, urine, dog s
t and litter everywhere).Based on the above, I'm not hoping for much. But is there anything we can do to appeal this decision? The outlook down our garden is currently beautiful and the field is full of wildlife. However, this will soon be converted to concrete and brick and will be utterly ruined.
Thanks all.
surveyor said:
You have no right of appeal.
If the decision was wrong in law I would imagine that you could seek a judicial review. Would not rate your chances of success though.
Ok.If the decision was wrong in law I would imagine that you could seek a judicial review. Would not rate your chances of success though.
The main thing I can't get my head around is the fact that the local plan stated the area of land was outside the area that could be built in. However, this plan is now classed as 'out of date' because a new one is being drawn up. The problem is, when I last checked the new one wasn't finished. How do they get around that? Or is it something that doesn't really stop things like this happening?
Thanks.
Bluebarge said:
All local authorities are under pressure to release more land for building to deal with the housing crisis, so stories like yours are very common. Not sure why you need to make a personal attack on one of the councillors involved - he is simply doing what he is required to do by central govt. You mention that the site is an in-fill between one estate and some industrial buildings, so it is not like they are plonking an estate in the middle of an AONB or SSSI. My sympathies and all but, unless you own your view, you can't guarantee it will stay the same.
I'm not making a personal attack, I'm mentioning the fact that the person who heads the committee has been involved in things recently and these decisions don't surprise me.The site is not in-fill between an estate and industry. The site sits between houses along a road (not an estate location) and an industrial area.
dtmpower said:
funkyrobot said:
department has seen the opening of loads of European mini markets and gambling shops in the local town, whilst other types of shop have closed.
What's this got to do with housing ?HarryW said:
funkyrobot said:
dtmpower said:
funkyrobot said:
department has seen the opening of loads of European mini markets and gambling shops in the local town, whilst other types of shop have closed.
What's this got to do with housing ?blueg33 said:
Lots of people have been hit like this, the LA's were too crap to get their local plans up to date and the the NPPF that was introduced by the governament, basically said that if a local plan is not up tp date then any site is fair game.
I think its too late for any objection now, your only route would be a Judicial Review (you have 6 weeks from the decision notice being issued). But as Surveyor said, all this looks at is whether the application was dealt with using the correct process, it will look at whether the decision made would have been the same if corect process had been followed, and it will either uphold or overturn the decision. It is a very expensive process and you would have a virtually nil chance of success.
All - check your local plans and make representations as necessary. If the plan is out of date start making lots of noise to the Council. Your neighbouring land is at risk of development of you dont.
Thanks. I doubt I will have the funds for that. I think its too late for any objection now, your only route would be a Judicial Review (you have 6 weeks from the decision notice being issued). But as Surveyor said, all this looks at is whether the application was dealt with using the correct process, it will look at whether the decision made would have been the same if corect process had been followed, and it will either uphold or overturn the decision. It is a very expensive process and you would have a virtually nil chance of success.
All - check your local plans and make representations as necessary. If the plan is out of date start making lots of noise to the Council. Your neighbouring land is at risk of development of you dont.
MDMetal said:
Not wanting to cause any offense at all but where should people build all the new houses that the country desperately needs? I live just outside of Cambridge, have a good job that pays well and I can't afford to live in the city unless I lived in the worst areas. For the same price (just under 200k) I have the privilege of living in a nice-ish village but it's not in the city and it's silly money. All this because of a lack of houses.
Things like concerns over the drainage should be raised as serious concerns definitely but that will at best require them to have a more sensible plan not to abandon the project.
We raised our concerns in the proper manner. I did plenty of research and outlined my objections in the correct way (i.e. I didn't slate the build, but pointed out our concerns). Drainage was one of the big ones, but it's been ignored.Things like concerns over the drainage should be raised as serious concerns definitely but that will at best require them to have a more sensible plan not to abandon the project.
Re housing, have you seen the stats for the number of empty homes in the country?
Mr Adds said:
I am a Planning Officer, albeit in the North East. The recent govt guidance in the NPPF puts the emphahsis more on sustainability for new developments, how near existing services the proposal would be, transport links etc... but policies in the old local plans should still be compliant.
Our new local plan does not have settlement limits, rather settlements are scored on existing facilities, and new development is directed towards them.
A scheme that large would have been decided by a planning committee as its a major scheme- did you speak to any councillors before the committee, or did any neighbours speak at the meeting itself?
In terms of mini markets and gambling shops, the mini markets are an A1 retail use, the majority of A1 uses are in town centres as they are essentially shope so changes between different A1 uses do not require consent. Betting shops are an A2 use, again, the majority of which are located in town centres, and may not have required permission.
Im my 10 years of planning, the only bribe I have been offered was a bottle of vodka when dealing with a smoking shelter at a club...
Thanks for explaining that. Our new local plan does not have settlement limits, rather settlements are scored on existing facilities, and new development is directed towards them.
A scheme that large would have been decided by a planning committee as its a major scheme- did you speak to any councillors before the committee, or did any neighbours speak at the meeting itself?
In terms of mini markets and gambling shops, the mini markets are an A1 retail use, the majority of A1 uses are in town centres as they are essentially shope so changes between different A1 uses do not require consent. Betting shops are an A2 use, again, the majority of which are located in town centres, and may not have required permission.
Im my 10 years of planning, the only bribe I have been offered was a bottle of vodka when dealing with a smoking shelter at a club...
We missed the boat because we moved to the house two years ago. Apparently, the potential build has been on the cards for a while so we missed notifications etc that were sent out. Also, when we did the checks on the house, nothing showed up as planned for development because the plans hadn't been passed at the time. We only really found out after moving in and getting to know our neighbours who mentioned it.
One of our neighbours is held in high regard in the local area and was in contact with the councillors etc. According to him, it wasn't going to happen due to the concerns raised by local residents and the area they want to build on. Some councillors even rejected the build. Looks like his influence failed.
Oh well. The opportunity has passed now.
As has been mentioned above, I'm going to be doing a lot of planting this year.
Incidentally, there is a very large tree that is growing out of the ditch at the end of our garden. Our boundary stops at the top edge of the ditch and the tree is rooted in the slope from there down. This tree currently provides us with a lot of privacy and the plans for the build include keeping it there. It would be nice if it stayed. However, we'll see what happens.
Finally, I think there will be potential issues with residents moving into the new estate. Some of the industrial unit owners rejected the plans as they are concerned about potential noise complaints etc as the estate will be right next to them. One business owner was even refused permission to extend their unit a year or so ago, so they'll be annoyed. Again though, these rejections have been ignored.
blueg33 said:
In terms of the drainage, I woudn't worry too much. The developer will almost certainly be required to attenuate the surface waer run off rates tio match those of a greenfield, they will also need to address flooding issues to make it possible to sell the houses.
I have a project in Birmingham where the storm water attenuation is a massive underground storage tank 3 metres in diameter and 30 metres long, this is to serve 18 houses and 32 apartments. In Norfolk we are about to complete a health centre and the entire carpark sits on "crates" a type of storm water attenuation, that discharges into the ditch behind some houses. The field use to flood, now it doesnt, so we have improved the position for the neighbours, as well as building a jolly nice place for them to go to to see the doc.
Thanks.I have a project in Birmingham where the storm water attenuation is a massive underground storage tank 3 metres in diameter and 30 metres long, this is to serve 18 houses and 32 apartments. In Norfolk we are about to complete a health centre and the entire carpark sits on "crates" a type of storm water attenuation, that discharges into the ditch behind some houses. The field use to flood, now it doesnt, so we have improved the position for the neighbours, as well as building a jolly nice place for them to go to to see the doc.
We are concerned about this, but as long as it is done properly..
Our pipework also runs down from the house and under the ditch. Hopefully, they won't smash that up.
Also, what happens in relation to piling etc and vibrations that could affect current houses? Is there a potential issue with them doing all of this work and nice big cracks appearing in our house?
benters said:
There is of course the inconceivable notion that putting up new houses will actually enhance your town, for a development this size there will be a 106 agreement meaning the developer will need to put the council in funds of god knows how much which potentially could be used for schools, bus improvements, leisure facilities, street lighting etc etc.
It could also mean that the local business do better, attract more customers, so your town improves its standing and house prices including your rise as the area goes through the cycle.
It's not in the town. It's in a village next to the town. The town is over a mile away.It could also mean that the local business do better, attract more customers, so your town improves its standing and house prices including your rise as the area goes through the cycle.
Section 106 has been mentioned so thanks for explaining that. I hope the funds are used properly.
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