Planning permission - loft conversion

loopydonna

My neighbours have mentioned in passing about having their loft converted so their adult children can move back into the property. I don't know how serious they are about it, but there was a loft conversion company vehicle parked outside yesterday.

They live in the last of a row of small link houses, and I'm next door in a semi. We can't stand upright in our loft as it's not that high, but I'm not sure how big their loft is. It's fair to assume they will have to have a dormer window or something added to extend the roof space.

No other houses in the area have loft conversions, and having seen very ugly looking dormer windows my husband mentioned an eyesore dormer may harm our property value. Of course it may be nice and blend in, so we're just looking at the worst possible scenario here.

We are expecting a baby due in the summer and my husband works shifts and sleeps during the day. We are concerned that noise from a loft conversion will disturb my husband and the new baby.

We have already had numerous issues with the neighbours regarding their inconsiderate parking. They only have space for the 2 cars they already own outside their property. The adult children and their parents visit frequently and often block in cars on our driveway. We are concerned that the adult children moving back in with their own cars will cause the access problems to our driveway on a more regular basis, especially as none of them work.

The adult children do not get on with each other, and have no consideration for others. We had to put up with loud music, fighting and other anti-social behaviour when they lived here, so we were glad to see the back of them when they were given their own properties to live in. This is another reason why I'm not keen on them moving back in.

If they do go ahead with the loft conversion, will they have to apply for planning permission? If so, would objections made by us be taken into consideration, or would it just go through regardless of our concerns?

Help appreciated.

alanobrien

Depending on what they are having done they may or may not need planning permission. For instance when we did ours we only needed planning permission if we put in a dormer facing the road, we didn't so all we had to do was comply with the building regs.

Yes, your objections willl be taken into account, given your property joins theirs the part wall act is applicable.

One thing though, if they can't stand up in the loft, getting it converted without raising the roof line is unlikely as part of the process requires a new floor suspended above the existing top floor ceiling meaning space will be even more limited.

Whether it would go through or not after objection depends on the basis of the objection and your local councils policies. In our area these things are taken seriously, however in an area close to here you can do almost anything you like !

ormus

PP for loft conversions is usually not required as goes for most internal work.
BC definately does apply.

reasonable building noise is permitted of course, otherwise how would we be able to build anything!
unreasonable noise is another matter. ie drilling and hammering after approx 8 pm could be classed as an offence.
bear in mind the local council can take months and even yrs! to sort it out, by which time the building work will be finished!

you seem to be very unhappy at the general social behavior of the neighbours. this is a seperate issue/s.
its a sign of the times we live in im afraid.
best advice is to move!

good neighbours are like pure gold. look after them. ive been very lucky with my present home and my last one.

rizla01

I think that your grounds for complaint are justified and will be treated seriously.

On a more positive note, if they do get the 'go-ahead' then they will set a precedence for others and perhaps you could have the same done to your house and this would enable you to make a good profit on your house, so you might be more inclined to sell up.

If it were a possibility, the two done together would reduce the total cost for you, too, so -- more profit!

You don't have to consult the neighbors for this to happen, just the building company, and there is no need for the neighbour to beneifit from this discount, either:).

ormus

your council must be superb then.

my local council/police/courts etc... took 6 yrs to sort out a major yobbo problem in the next parish to mine.

loopydonna

I don't want to sell up and move. We've been here for years now, and we are settled here. Apart from next door (who have fallen out with most people in the street), we get on well with everyone else in the street and we like the area. We live close to an excellent primary school, which is a feeder school for one of the best secondary schools in the county. I think moving would harm our childrens education, as they'd be uprooted from school and friends, and perhaps wouldn't get into the secondary school we wish them to go to.

I also don't want to extend my home, nor do I have the funds to do so. Our home has enough rooms for our family, and we don't need any extra space. I prefer keeping the loft as storage space for the usual things, like Christmas decs etc.!

marybishop

They will have to serve you notice under the Party Wall etc Act 1996 because presumably they will be doing work to the party wall between theirs and your property i.e. inserting steels, etc. A lot of people think they don't have to bother or are told by the loft conversion company/builder that this is not necessary but this is not the case. And they will be liable for both surveyors' fees as it's them having the work done.

kittiwoz

They do not share a party wall. They are in a semi and the neighbour is end-terrace.

cat79_2

I dont know which part of the country you are in, I am a town planner in scotland and well aware that the regs are different in england/wales dependant on the type of development, however in Scotland we take planning applications for all dormers regardless of whether on the front or the rear, as they affect the roof of the existing building. I would double check with your local authority though as if they do require pp but start work without it you can contact the enforcement officers and they should stop the work.

If your neighbour applies for planning permission, you will have the opportunity to object, however your objections will be on file and will therefore be viewable by anyone including your neighbours, should they be as antagonistic as they sound this may be a problem for you but certainly should not prevent you putting in an objection which you are perfectly entitled to do.

The validity of your objections are important, they will be taken seriously provided they are material planning considerations, specifically the design issues you mentioned is important, if you can state that erecting a dormer extension will harm the character of the area then that is the kind of objection to make, "my neighbours make noise" cant really be considered a material planning consideration, unfortunately (though it is dependant on circumstances).

Building consents will definitely be required for the works.

rizla01

kittiwoz wrote:

They do not share a party wall. They are in a semi and the neighbour is end-terrace.

Ooops. You are correct.

I mis-read it, too.

moob_2

If you are suffering from general noise etc, despite what others have mentioned on here about LA's being useless when it comes to anti-social behaviour, you can call them most hours of the day if the noise is ongoing, and have a measurement taken under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act.

If this reading breaches the Permitted Level for that time of day, they can be served with a Warning Notice and subsequently, if the warning is not adhered to, served with a Fixed Penalty Notice...