Conservatory - Clear Glass No Privacy

confuseddad_2

Used to be in the double glazing game and we would always have the stipulation in planning that obscure glass be put onto any boundry wall side. Definattly check with planning unless it is permitted devolpment but even so they should have written permission.

No permission then thats a differant story.

never_enough

Someone else had this problem & one of the suggestions was to take up naked gardening....

Tongue

never_enough wrote: »

Someone else had this problem & one of the suggestions was to take up naked gardening....

Bit too cold now for gardening starkers, and that's another thing the neighbour looks out onto my beautiful garden and gets the benefit of all my hard toil and graft!

mattwallisuk

tanith wrote: »

If they refuse to do anything I'd put a fence up as close to the glass as I could manage.. then hang bits of old rags down their side of it so it looks really ugly...

Was about to suggest a similar thing, you could give them an awful view OUT of their conservatory...

never_enough

Tongue wrote: »

Bit too cold now for gardening starkers, and that's another thing the neighbour looks out onto my beautiful garden and gets the benefit of all my hard toil and graft!

I did think temperature might be an issue. It would really annoy me, somehow it's worse than looking over a fence. You would have thought common decency would've come into their design plan. How about 6 ft willow screening, or a trellis with russian vine?

planning_officer

Viper_7 wrote: »

Indeed - they are classed as Temporary - hopefully one day they will require planning regs as one can pretty put up any monstrosity even if it's bright pink with yellow spots.

Oh dear if I had a pound for every time I'd heard this...

Conservatories are NOT temporary structures (in fact, there is no such thing under planning legislation) - if you extend your house, it doesn't matter if it's made of brick, glass or cheese - it's an extension. Often, they benefit from permitted development rights, and in England they can go right up to the boundary without requiring express planning permission from the Council - subject to various height restrictions and a maximum depth of 4m for a detached house or 3m for a semi/terrace.

planning_officer

angelavdavis wrote: »

Have been digging some more - it looks like the law was changed in 2008! It appears that previously, extensions could not be built within 2m of boundary, but this seems to have been changed (madness if you ask me):

2002 planning rules summary
2008 planning rules summary

Yes, permitted development legislation changed in 2008 (that's planning, not building regs - your 2002 link refers to building regs). The 2008 link also misses most of the criteria with which extensions now have to comply - but then, it was written by a surveyor, and not a planner!)

The old permitted development legislation came into force in 1995 and was volume based - so you could extend up to a certain volume, but that could be pretty much anywhere on your property (subject to a few height restrictions). Now, after 1 Oct 2008, it is not volume based for extensions, but in effect each elevation is treated differently - so you can extend from the rear, subject to a various criteria, and from each side, subject to various criteria (unless the house is in a conservation area, National Park or AONB, in which case it is far more restrictive under the new legislation).

Prior to 2008 (under the 1995 legislation), you could still extend up to the boundary (the 2m distance only refers to situations where the height exceeds 4m). Under the new legislation, you can still extend up to the boundary at single storey level, as permitted development.

Viper_7

planning_officer wrote: »

Oh dear if I had a pound for every time I'd heard this...

Conservatories are NOT temporary structures (in fact, there is no such thing under planning legislation) - if you extend your house, it doesn't matter if it's made of brick, glass or cheese - it's an extension. Often, they benefit from permitted development rights, and in England they can go right up to the boundary without requiring express planning permission from the Council - subject to various height restrictions and a maximum depth of 4m for a detached house or 3m for a semi/terrace.

It is temporary. They don't last, may as well be made of cheese, they are grossly inefficient structures. They still need an outside facing door between the main dwelling and the temporary structure.
Irrelevant how deep the dig is, the dig could be in clay or cottage cheese. go down as far is required.
Yes can go right up to the boundary, so all one needs to do if your not happy with the neighbours is build the same with a solid wall so they can't access theirs. your wall will last, and their glass will look the pits.
Crappy legislation and regs as always

planning_officer

Yes I agree that they are inefficient and may as well be made of cheese in some cases, but they are not temporary under planning legislation. They are development, and require permission (but like I say above, they are often 'permitted development'). Neither is a shed, a greenhouse etc temporary - the only definition of 'temporary' in planning law is something that is present for no more than 28 days in one calendar year, so (whilst it's not relevant here anyway) unless a conservatory is put up for 28 days and then demolished before being re-erected for another 28 day period the following year, it ain't temporary!!

You also misunderstand my reference to 'depth' - I am referring to the measurement from the rear wall of the house to the rear wall of the conservatory, not the depth of the foundations (even if they are cottage cheese lol).

Certainly ain't crappy legislation - if conservatories were not subject to planning control, then you could build a 10 metre long one extending all along someone's boundary, with fully clear glazed windows all along the boundary... just a bit of overlooking methinks...

Tongue

Planning Office came today to have a look. Said they have been a bit cheeky with the build but it's bang on the boundary line and there is nowt I can do but erect a fence or wall as close to their build as possible up to 2 metres tall. So it looks like I will have to cough up some cash and get a big fence up painted multicouloured on their side of course!