Help with planning objection

elektra

If Party wall act is a consideration in this case may I suggest you appoint a surveyor to protect your interests. You are entitled to do this and the other party has to pay the costs. Just as well we did as as having problems with shoddy builders and uncaring neighbour with her extension and it is likely to result in a court claim.

Neighbour wanted to extend on top of kitchen and it was refused on these grounds

' the proposal, by virtue of its size and siting, is considered to be detrimental to the residential amenity of the neighbouring property'

That didn't mean our neighbouring property it meant the one on other side. So the fact that we objected for similar reasons as you - eyesore,overbearing light etc it did not make difference but was thankfully rejected anyway.
Also an extension at back of us ( which we didn't have a chance to object to(another story) ) was allowed.

It appears 'right to light' given very little or no consideration.

worldwheeler

hello,
I have recently had experience of a planning application submitted to a council planning committee. The whole event was a pharse. The panel seemed to be bending over backwards and wriggling to appease the developer. The committee gave our objection 3mins to speak stating our arguments against the plans of a local leisure park to build on an open playing field very close to a road of residential housing. The developer had a power point presentation to support their application. Photographic evidence to support our objections were refused to be viewed by the committee. The committee asked questions, that were addressed in our objections, and answered them with "no evidence for such queries" (they seemed to have no read our letters or not understood them or ignored them). We were given no recourse to draw attention to points in our objections. The application was objected to by three councillors who pointed out that the development would impact greatly on the residential housing surrounding the leisure park. The application was passed by a vote.
I was told after the event that maybe the council was unwilling to go to the next stage of decision making as the council would be unable to fund the objection and the developer could afford solicitors as a business expense tax right off.
The Unitary Development Plan(UDP) was quoted many times. In the event it seems that the UDP can be used by developers to appeal for planning permission through courts that have no knowledge of areas concerned as the court id remote from them. This seems that a government has developed a set of policies that allows central control of local planning. Seems a bit "Stalinist"

"Right to light" I think does not appear in the UDP and any other "quality of life" considerations are again not given notice. Developers have almost a free hand to build over all of England's land.
A future tourist (if anyone would want to visit a vast metropolis covering the entire Island) travelling through England could hear the phrase " and if you look to the right you will see Hyde park, the last green zone in Britain"

Debt_Free_Chick

worldwheeler wrote: »

I was told after the event that maybe the council was unwilling to go to the next stage of decision making as the council would be unable to fund the objection and the developer could afford solicitors as a business expense tax right off.

True - no local planning authority wants the expense of an appeal that they are likely to lose. Afterall, it's Council Tax they're spending.

The Unitary Development Plan(UDP) was quoted many times. In the event it seems that the UDP can be used by developers to appeal for planning permission through courts that have no knowledge of areas concerned as the court id remote from them. This seems that a government has developed a set of policies that allows central control of local planning. Seems a bit "Stalinist"

The UDP sets out the council's policies on planning issues. Anyone - developers AND householders - who submits an application which fits with the UDP is almost certain to get PP - afterall, the Council are actually saying "this is the kind of development we want".

The UDP is also very useful to those who want to object - if your objections match the UDP (those parts which the council set out the kinds of development they don't want, or the issues that would lead to refusal of PP) then you've a greater chance of winning. This is the purpose of the UDP - it sets out what will and what won't get PP.

"Right to light" I think does not appear in the UDP and any other "quality of life" considerations are again not given notice.

Planning is concerned with the impact on the amenity or the neighbourhood in general. The council is not there to protect individual rights - we have to do that for ourselves in all walks of life, not just planning.

Developers have almost a free hand to build over all of England's land

A little harsh - have a look at the UDP and I think you'll find areas where development will not be allowed.

tagz

Well we had a bit of a result. We talked to the neighbours on the other side of the one asking for planning and they objected on the same grounds as us. Our neighbour then approached us and we invited him in for a chat. We explained our objections and showed him our plans for which we have permission. He then withdrew his application and has submitted new ones that mirror ours. I'm very pleased and have no objections to the new plans at all. I'm still slightly on guard as he wanted us to build a shared wall along the boundary, but we checked with the planning dept. and found out that we would then have to apply again for permission for our extension. However it turns out that he has submitted plans exactly as ours (meaning there would be two walls next to each other) but wants us to build a joint wall instead (not in the plans submitted). I said no as I didn't want any problems when it comes to getting the extension signed off and getting the certificate.

windym_2

Well, very glad you had a result that you are happy with. Unfortunately Planning is not a black and white medium. Planners have discretion and subsequently you may fall fowl or benefit. When we obtained Planning for our barn conversion, the original planner told us we could not have a wall of glazing (where an opening was - 5m long). She fell ill and her replacement told us he would recommend the exact same plans. Needless to say, we got what we wanted (no neighbours so, no issue in that respect) and have a wonderful glazed elevation looking across the Cornish countryside.