Legal advice needed please

clarerachel01

Good afternoon

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place if not please advise me and i will move it

I will try and make this as short as possible as we are just after advice on where to start, we are a neighbour hood with around 200 homes and a large company have just had planning permission passed to construct a massive building on our housing estate, this is going to be just feet away from some homes, planning permission was first turned down back in December but earlier this week with new plans submitted was granted, we don't believe the revised plans will make any difference to the scale of the building at all, while we totally agree this building is needed we don't agree with where they are going to build it, just metres away there in industrial land that the company could buy to construct on we find this a perfectly acceptable compromise, we want to know if there is any way we can appeal the decision and if so how, we are in the process of trying to find out if some of the information submitted to the council has vanished as we believe is true, many of the planning panel did ask if it was available in the hearing and they was told they have not received it we believe this to be false and could of changed the outcome, if we cant prove this how would we stand on claiming compensation ? My house wont be affected as much as others but we stand to lose about 20% off the value of our homes as well as our living standards to be reduced significantly because of the sheer scale the building it will cause loss of views, vibrations to homes and vast noise problems, I'm not to good with words but i hope this explains enough
Many thanks

lincroft1710

As the plans have been passed, the time for objection has long gone. Appealing against a council planning decision only happens when the council have refused permission.

Planning portal website

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/appeals/planningappeals

What exactly is the building?

TonyMMM

Generally, once permission has been granted you have no right of appeal.


Your right was to submit your objections during the planning process, and to attend, and usually speak at, the planning committee meeting that considered the application (if was sent to the committee).

The mistake most people make is to make their objections around things you mention ... loss of value to their homes, loss of views, loss of light etc. NONE of which are valid reasons for the application be be refused. You have to read up on the local and regional development plans and find specific breaches of those in the application if you are to have any chance of success.

Most councils these days have on-line access to planning applications, which should include all the relevant documents that formed part of the process.

If you think the actual process was not carried out properly (not just that you don't agree with the outcome), you should start by speaking to your local councillor.

You will not be entitled to any sort of compensation for the things you mention (unless the building process actually causes damage to your houses).

bris

There will be no compensation for the loss of value to the homes, it is always subjective as to whether there even will be a loss or not.

These things happen, not a lot you can do about it but it is the kind of area only a proper solicitor in this field can advise you on.

clarerachel01

Hello

Its a new pumping station, we did appeal the decision but belive information has been "lost" that we belive would of changed the outcome because of what was said in the meeting, our problem is not with the pumping station being build just with the location smack bang in the middle of our houses when there is a massive plot of land just at the other side of the lagoon that it could of been built on, We are not trying to be selfish or money grabbing but most of us simply cant afford to lose this value off our homes, its going make it a nightmare to live so close, our house wont look directly onto the building as of the way our house is set but some will and i feel so sorry for them, we have worked all our lives to buy and pay for our houses and some now stand to lose them surley we have some sort of rights?

hcb42

why will you lose your houses just because a building goes up?

as others have said the loss of value is subjective and may not even happen

how do you know it could have been built on the other side? was this considered in the application, is the land suitable? Is it even available?

Auntie-Dolly

Haven't you been watching that planning programme on BBC2? Very informative. Planners can only consider the application thay have before them - not speculate that it could be built on a different bit of land. If there is no valid planning objections it will be passed.

clarerachel01

The reason it was turned down in december was because the applicant was asked to produce evidence why the building could not be build on the other plot of land , they was given a month to produce this and they never so planning was refused, they have drawn up 4 sets of plans one of them being on the other land and we have had confimation off engineers that it can be built there and yes the land is available to to them, the information that has "got lossed" was from 2 members of parlament who have told us they sent it to the council, the members on the planning board asked for this in the meeting but was told nothing had been received, there is many flows in this application we just need the proof

browneyedbazzi

I'm no expert in planning, but if the process the council has used to make a decision is flawed (rather than just not agreeing with the outcome) then your recourse where there isn't a right of appeal is often to take the matter to a Judicial Review. If the process was flawed to a degree that it affected the outcome then the decision can be overturned/the council forced to go through the process again, but in the correct manner. A Judicial Review is a lengthy and costly process for which you would almost certainly need expert legal advice.

Optimist

There is currently only one way you can appeal against a planning decision and that is by making a legal challenge in the high court and asking for a judicial review BUT this is only for a error in law.

The court will not consider any other criteria no matter how irrational you consider the planning permission to be.

mo786uk

Yes judicial review sounds like the way to go

presumably you can get a JR review if the Council knew there was vital information but didn't look at it?