Informal Planning Advice prior to Complaint?
Discussion
It would appear your neighbour is a selfish arrogant c**t therefore you are merely responding appropriately.
'They ignored me more than once' summed it up for me imho.
I would hire the biggest camera I could and blatantly photograph them and their mates, just before reporting to the authorities as above, and wait for the music.
'They ignored me more than once' summed it up for me imho.
I would hire the biggest camera I could and blatantly photograph them and their mates, just before reporting to the authorities as above, and wait for the music.
JQ said:
youngsyr said:
Is it possible to get independent planning advice from a surveyor etc?
Yes, lots of independent planning consultants about, one of those would likely be better than a surveyor. Try googling for your local area.Bullet-Proof_Biscuit said:
It would appear your neighbour is a selfish arrogant c**t therefore you are merely responding appropriately.
'They ignored me more than once' summed it up for me imho.
I would hire the biggest camera I could and blatantly photograph them and their mates, just before reporting to the authorities as above, and wait for the music.
As tempting as it may be, I'd prefer to be as reasonable as possible about it. At least if it's clear they've breached planning then they can't just argue that it's me being a NIMBY neighbour.'They ignored me more than once' summed it up for me imho.
I would hire the biggest camera I could and blatantly photograph them and their mates, just before reporting to the authorities as above, and wait for the music.
Every LPA in the land is required to take an objective view on impact on amenity, of which privacy is a key material consideration. Their policies might be worded slightly differently, but they all mean the same thing in effect.
In the case of decking, there's plenty of case law that sits in your favour to argue that the neighbours needed planning for this. On a sloping site, the wording of the legislation does allow some degree of interpretation, but appeal inspectors invariably defer to the spirit intended by the legislation, namely that a structure is permitted development (i.e. doesn't need planning permission) where the effects are not likely to give rise to significant effects on neighbouring properties, without prior formal assessment of those effects. In this case, it would take a complete donut of a case officer to pick an arbitrary point of ground level and use that as the basis for arguing a structure doesn't need permission.
I say grass 'em up. If you've tried the approach of talking to them directly with no joy, it's not like they really give a s
t what you think, and therefore they've already trampled on the neighbourly spirit line.
In the case of decking, there's plenty of case law that sits in your favour to argue that the neighbours needed planning for this. On a sloping site, the wording of the legislation does allow some degree of interpretation, but appeal inspectors invariably defer to the spirit intended by the legislation, namely that a structure is permitted development (i.e. doesn't need planning permission) where the effects are not likely to give rise to significant effects on neighbouring properties, without prior formal assessment of those effects. In this case, it would take a complete donut of a case officer to pick an arbitrary point of ground level and use that as the basis for arguing a structure doesn't need permission.
I say grass 'em up. If you've tried the approach of talking to them directly with no joy, it's not like they really give a s
t what you think, and therefore they've already trampled on the neighbourly spirit line. youngsyr said:
Thanks, just called a local one. He's out for lunch, but I'll have a chat and see if he can visit for a reasonable amount of money and give us a professional verdict.
Yep, just get an hourly rate or fixed fee agreed on the basis that it's just advice and you don't actually require them to do anything. They may be happy to do it from the comfort of their office with a few good quality photos and measurements from you.JQ said:
youngsyr said:
Thanks, just called a local one. He's out for lunch, but I'll have a chat and see if he can visit for a reasonable amount of money and give us a professional verdict.
Yep, just get an hourly rate or fixed fee agreed on the basis that it's just advice and you don't actually require them to do anything. They may be happy to do it from the comfort of their office with a few good quality photos and measurements from you.Edited by dickymint on Friday 20th July 14:00
There are different rules depending if it’s attached to the house or freestanding. The 300mm rule is taken from the highest existing point, so it could be 300mm at one end and 2000mm at the other and it would comply. By the sounds of this one it would fail due to its total area, especially if it’s attached to the house. BC have little interest in decking from my experience. Decking is a bit of a minefeild, only one persons opinion will count in this matter and that’s the enforcement officer, little point in speaking to anyone else.
If you complain to the council, and they agree that it needs planning, the first thing they will do is write to the neighbour and invite him to submit a retrospective householder planning application.
This can drag on for many months or even a year.
From what you have described, it certainly does need planning and you will end up falling out with the neighbour.
Personally, I wouldn't be accepting any screening as a halfway house.
This can drag on for many months or even a year.
From what you have described, it certainly does need planning and you will end up falling out with the neighbour.
Personally, I wouldn't be accepting any screening as a halfway house.
Little Lofty said:
There are different rules depending if it’s attached to the house or freestanding. The 300mm rule is taken from the highest existing point, so it could be 300mm at one end and 2000mm at the other and it would comply. By the sounds of this one it would fail due to its total area, especially if it’s attached to the house. BC have little interest in decking from my experience. Decking is a bit of a minefeild, only one persons opinion will count in this matter and that’s the enforcement officer, little point in speaking to anyone else.
From the OP’s description (and we really do need to see a photo - can’t be that hard to not show where it is) it would fail dismillly on privacy.bobtail4x4 said:
dickymint said:
Judging by OP’s description of this “deck” i’d Say that building regs would not only require a balustrade but also require structural calculations for it?
a deck is exempt B Regs normallydickymint said:
JQ said:
youngsyr said:
Thanks, just called a local one. He's out for lunch, but I'll have a chat and see if he can visit for a reasonable amount of money and give us a professional verdict.
Yep, just get an hourly rate or fixed fee agreed on the basis that it's just advice and you don't actually require them to do anything. They may be happy to do it from the comfort of their office with a few good quality photos and measurements from you.Edited by dickymint on Friday 20th July 14:00
desolate said:
youngsyr said:
So, a couple of pictures to help visualise:
Seriously - just ring planning enforcement.If they decide not to enforce then pay for some advice.
If nothing else it looks a bit dangerous.
I wholeheartedly agree that it is dangerous - especially considering they have an 18 month old child, but then again I've given up trying to understand their thoughts, because they seem to be the opposite of mine on a lot of issues.
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