Neighbour not happy with my plans !

[IceBoy]

Just checked on the online service the borough provide with planning applications and I have seen a that my neighbour that lives behind me has written with several objections to my propsed extension.

The reasons seem very petty to me, but I understand that they mean something to him. I am not unreasonable and want to do everything by the book, that is why I instructed my architect to make sure I was within all the rules and sitpulation so that we could pass through planning easily.....

So my question:

What power would this objection (mainly window location and the fact that my proposed extension will be 6 foot closer to his house that the original building) hold in the mind of the authority. Will this make the authority act any differently had this objection not been made?

Sorry for the length !

cheers
IceBoy

[stevieb]

as my opinion is complete bollox in the eys of another PH pay no attention to me.

But if you are going to reduce the privacy of his garden over look his house then you need to resolve this either by changing your design (location of the window size etc)

But this all depends on the authority some will not think anymore of it and put it asside but others will require a resolution before PP is granted.

to quash the objection then you will need to look at you existing house and think would the new window really reduce his privacy that much in relation to what is there at the moment? if you can demostrate that there would be no reduction in privacy as you can already see him doing a BBQ in the garden then this could be seen as a good arguement against your neighbour.

But try to solve this by speaking to him first before going into the council chambers. ask him if he would be happy if you used obscured glass would this be acceptable to you though. simple things could resolve this and remove an objection.

[Davi]

In my experience it depends very much on the panel that sit on the day! I've been on both sides of objections, and have heard in one instance that it played a part, and on another that the panel basically couldn't give a monkeys what any of the locals think!!!

[jacko lah]

IceBoy said:

that is why I instructed my architect to make sure I was within all the rules and sitpulation so that we could pass through planning easily.....

So my question:

What power would this objection (mainly window location and the fact that my proposed extension will be 6 foot closer to his house that the original building) hold in the mind of the authority. Will this make the authority act any differently had this objection not been made?

Sorry for the length !

cheers
IceBoy

Some people object because you NEVER bothered to discuss it with them in the first place and because they can. Some object because they want CASH from you. some Object because they are councillors and you never bribed them.

[steviebee]

jacko lah said:

IceBoy said:

that is why I instructed my architect to make sure I was within all the rules and sitpulation so that we could pass through planning easily.....

So my question:

What power would this objection (mainly window location and the fact that my proposed extension will be 6 foot closer to his house that the original building) hold in the mind of the authority. Will this make the authority act any differently had this objection not been made?

Sorry for the length !

cheers
IceBoy

Some people object because you NEVER bothered to discuss it with them in the first place and because they can.

I think this is a much overlooked point in cases such as this.

It's very easy for someone to raise objections when not faced with the person submitting the plans. You may well be able to over rule the objection but you'll then have a pissed off neighbour and in 10 years, you'll find a row of 30' conifers (can't spell llyddandy!!) at the end of your garden. Nip round with a few tins and a chat. You'll probably find that his objections are little more than "concerns" that can easily be overcome. I know there's "due-process" in these matters but there's no substitute for a bit of pre-formality TLC.

[Sam_68]

stevieb said:

as my opinion is complete bollox in the eys of another PH pay no attention to me.

Hello stevieb!

As Davi says, planning committee members can be a law unto themselves and can make completely random decisions at times. Such decisions can usually be overturned on appeal, but I'm sure you don't want to go down that route.

However if the application is for a domestic extension it may not even go to committee - it would be normal to deal with this sort of thing under officer delegated powers.

Many local authorities have published written guidance on what they deem to be acceptable privacy distances. Speak to the Planning Officer and ask if they have a leaflet covering 'Supplementary Planning Guidance on Space About Dwellings'. These privacy distances are no longer applicable between new houses within a development, but almost all authorities still adhere to them to ensure privacy of existing dwellings if a new house is being build alongside, or an existing house extended.

In addition to the 'Space About Dwellings' guidance, there is the possible issue of daylight to windows. There are ways of calculating whether your extension is unduely detrimental to the amount of daylight that reaches your neighbour's windows, but but it is rather too complicated to get into here. Suffice it to say that it isn't often a problem, so don't worry about it unless the Planning Officer actually mentions it.

If your architect has complied with this guidance, then the Planning Officer will almost certainly attach very little weight to the objection (if the application is dealt with under delegated powers) or recommend to the committee that they attach very little weight to it (if it is going to a Planning Committee).

In either case, speak to the Planning Officer involved. They are usually quite happy to discuss the issue and will tell you whether they consider the objection to be valid, and if so what you should do to remedy the situation.

Ask if the application is Officer Delegated or going to Committee.

If it is Officer Delegated, ask if the Planning Officer is going to approve it in its present form and, if not, what changes he or she thinks would be necessary to make it acceptable.

If it is going to committee, ask what the recommendation will be and ask to obtain a copy of the committee report, when it is available (usually published shortly before the committee meeting, and will include the Officers written recommendations). You are certainly allowed to attend the committee meeting to listen to the discussions, and may be allowed to speak in support of your application (rules vary according to local authority). Your Planning Officer will, again, be able to give the date of the Committee meeting and the rules for attendance and speaking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
edited to add.. if it's any consolation, I start to get worried if any application I make receives less than 50 objections from nimbys; if the locals aren't up in arms about it, I obviously haven't crammed enough houses on!

Objections do NOT necessarily lead to refusals. They have to be valid objections to do that, and if they are valid, then the Planning Officer should have spotted the problem already.

Edited by Sam_68 on Monday 4th September 20:03

[IceBoy]

Thanks for words of wisdom and experience......I am a fairly chilled out guy and would normally take some beers around and have a neighbourly chat.

The thing is, I have just moved in 8 weeks ago and don't know anyone not even the neighbours yet. We offically moved in only a few weeks ago, as the house was in an almost deralict (sp) state. The garden were over grown (grass near 1.5 meters with rubish thrown in the gardens !!!!

It was a right mess. I have now managed to make it habitable but don't want to start decoration just yet. Do the building work first and then make it a home.

I might just wait until the council get back to me with their decision......I just want to get started ! such is life though.

Have a good day....if anyone has anyone other suggestions keep them coming.

Iceboy

[Scraggles]

IceBoy said:

Thanks for words of wisdom and experience......I am a fairly chilled out guy and would normally take some beers around and have a neighbourly chat.

The thing is, I have just moved in 8 weeks ago and don't know anyone not even the neighbours yet. We offically moved in only a few weeks ago, as the house was in an almost deralict (sp) state. The garden were over grown (grass near 1.5 meters with rubish thrown in the gardens !!!!

It was a right mess. I have now managed to make it habitable but don't want to start decoration just yet. Do the building work first and then make it a home.

I might just wait until the council get back to me with their decision......I just want to get started ! such is life though.

Have a good day....if anyone has anyone other suggestions keep them coming.

Iceboy

if u only moved in 8 weeks ago, never went round to say hello and then this guy gets notification that his new neighbour who he knows nothing about wants to build a great big extension in his back garden.......

you have nothing to lose by going round with a bottle of wine or two and a chat. am really surprised you could not have asked him for comments. anyone done the same to me and never bothered to chat, would object to evrything on princeiple, esp as u have moved the extension 6 foot closer to his house than the original plans, mayube u want it almost touching ?

[Davi]

Sounds like you are in a very similar position to me at the moment Ice Boy. I haven't actually moved into this house yet, as I've only had the place a couple of weeks and its still not habitable, but I've already applied for permission to remove a huge oak on one side, and intend to build a large extention on the other!

Fortunately I dont think the neighbours would have much grounds for complaint as there house has been extended to the point it covers 99% of the width of their plot!

We have only seen 1 person since we bought the place, went over to introduce ourselves and say hi! only to find it's a relative come to clear out the belongings of a recently deceased and put the house on the market I'd suggest a trip next door with a bottle of wine would be a good idea regardless of their complaint, otherwise it will just stew away and you really want to try and avoid issues with neighbours right from the start, if you can bring them on side early you'll find life a lot easier in the long run!

[stevieb]

Sam_68 said:

Hello stevieb!

How did i know that you would reply on this one........

YHM

Edited by stevieb on Tuesday 5th September 08:58

Edited by stevieb on Tuesday 5th September 09:07

[wanty1974]

Agreed - go and talk to him. One of my neighbours is in the planning department for Caerphilly council and apparently 'overlooking' and light reduction are the main reasons why neighbour objections are upheld and permission refused. It may not be the same where you are but it does seem to be a hot topic at the moment.

I'm sure if you spoke with the neighbour and talked through the plans, youo may turn him round. I'm sure he'd rather have a slightly larger but nicer house next door than a derelict heap witih a sofa in the garden.

[IceBoy]

Right I'm gonna pop around with some wine !

I have'nt got anything to lose.

Forgot to mention that he already has an extension that has moved closer to our property !!! I think it must have been done abot 3-5 years ago though..

Still nothing like a neighbourly chat and a glass of wine.

TTFN
IceBoy

[wanty1974]

It's the right way to go - the previous owners of our house waited until the two side neighbours were out one day and put a shed on one's garden with a fence around it and built a stone drive gate post on the other one's driveway.

Neither forced him to reverse what he'd done but we don't hear the end of it. They both said they really wouldn't have minded (land shapes are a bit funny, we all live on the inside of a circle) as long as they'd been asked.