Being overlooked by extension

csh_2

Hello, couldn't think of a snappy title sorry!
Basically i live at the botton of a hill which is green space on a housing estate.
The house on the street at the top, which u couldn't see from the bottom of the hill has begun building works that includes a double height extension (previously a bungalow). The builders have just erected the wooden frame and there are three massive window holes directly looking over my property.

Basically my question is, when in planning stages are the homeowners required to let the affected neighbours know they are building or is it a case of seeing it advertised in the local paper and objecting and if you didn't see it then tough luck?

Xeorix

If it needed planning permission and affects your property directly, you should have received a letter from the council.

You can only object in the planning stages, as once its been given approval they're good to go

Davesnave

I don't believe there is any legal requirement for you to be informed about applications for planning permission. Some councils used to do this, but that was before the cuts.

When I applied for PP in 2012 and 2013, my immediate neighbour wasn't informed. I was given a notice to erect 'in a prominent place' and asked to display it for 21 days. This was due to a 'shortage of staff.'

Naturally, I complied. :A

Yes, it can be tough luck. A developer building near a house I inherited, decided to change an open space on the estate into an couple of extra executive homes. The only notification any of us had was a sign on a lamp post in the next road, which I never saw. As it happened, I preferred the new arrangement, but that was just fortuitous.

27col

Let me see if I've got this right.
Someone up the road is building a large extension that you can see, and you want to object. Welcome to Nimbyland!!
By what logic do you think that you have a right not to be overlooked.
When I lived in Portsmouth many years ago. The back yard was overlooked by at least 25 windows nearby, Think yourself lucky it's only one house.

csh_2

Yes, i was under the impression that affected neighbours should receive letters but obviously this varies from council to council.
Our estate is set below another and all the houses on the top are bungalows with no side facing windows so they can't see down the hill, even if they were tall enough! These 3 windows are set on the side and face directly into my house.

PasturesNew

If it's overlooking you they've probably been forced to put bathroom-style glass in it. If it offends you, why not plant a tree/hedge to line up with them all?

Davesnave

27col wrote: »

By what logic do you think that you have a right not to be overlooked.
When I lived in Portsmouth many years ago. The back yard was overlooked by at least 25 windows nearby, Think yourself lucky it's only one house.

To be fair, the OP did not assert that they have a right not to be overlooked. Their post relates entirely to when there was an opportunity to oppose this particular build.

There is, of course, a significant difference between buying on a development where overlooking is already evident and having overlooking thrust upon one.

Tree planting sometimes offers the best solution in the latter case, with eucalyptus dalrympleana being about the fastest evergreen that may be grown in the UK.

We can then look forward to the neighbour complaining that the wonderful view from their new extension has been obscured by trees, so what can they do about it? :rotfl:

System

if you look on the local authority website for the application there is usually a list of notified properties - my guess is that on paper the op's property is outside of the notifiable distance although the topography/overlooking should have been considered in the planning process whether or not the op raised it.
It used to be the applicant that was responsible for the notifications but now it is the local authority - I had a two year "discussion" with a local authority about the distance to my property line as we weren't informed about a greedy person building a rental unit in the back lane, a full storey taller than any of the sheds on it... eventually got the planning permission voided but they just got retrospective permission subsequently

csh_2

It seems after looking online at the planning application that it was granted in june 2013, (i bought this house in april 13) they started building in june 2015, after they started building they made an amendment to the plans. Significant amendment to the north elevation which is the part overlooking me. Its went from 3 small windows to 3 large windows, 2 full length windows then french doors. They also made a change to the south side which the immediate neighbour objected to, and as a compromise one of the windows in the south side that now overlooks the immediate neighbour must be opaque.
As i understand it, theres nothing i can do about it now they have permission.

csh_2

Good shout those Eucalyptus-dalrympleana trees. Nice looking tree and fairly fast growing, it would screen them nicely from my view after a year or so

A_Frayed_Knot

the_r_sole wrote: »

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Had to take a second quick glance at your name .... Love it:cool: