2 storey extension contention

shaydoc

Hi,
My neighbour informed me that he plans a 2 storey extension onto the back of his detached house and that he has submitted to planning permission for this and I will receive a letter about this soon.



The issue this poses for my property is the following:

Our house is perpendicular to his house, in that our front garden adjoins their rear garden. Their house is on a slightly higher elevation also. The proposed extension will extend by maybe 3 or 4 metres into their backgarden extending the gable wall directly facing us. our garden has a hedge row to help mitigate the elevation in their backgarden. The addition of the extension will mean the wall will face our main living room and upstairs bedroom looking out on our front garden at maybe a distance of 10 to 15 metres away. Obviously its preferable he just did a simple 1 storey extenstion but the 2 storey means it will overbear on our garden. The extension will not cast a shadow due to the way the sun moves through our house diagonally from back to front, but will certainly be unsightly when compare to just having the sky to look up to

Do I have much cause to for objection being successful ?

dc197

My advice is to go to the council planning meeting. Present your objection in person. Do not try to say "Please don't let him build it, full stop" because it will likely fall on deaf ears. Instead use the approach that you require amendments due to A, B, C reasons. Make sure that those reasons adhere to your council's planning framework. Ask for no windows overlooking your garden, ask for obscure glass in those windows, ask for it to be set-back a little, etc.
Unless the whole thing breaches their planning framework, in my limited experience the council are more likely to approve with your amendments than to deny outright based on your neighbourly objections.

shaydoc

thanks for your considered opinion.
i will set out just he potential impact and leave it at that!

Doozergirl

There isn't necessarily going to be a council planning meeting! This is the sort of thing that is usually decided by the planning officer under delegated powers.

OP, you need to look for your local authority's 'supplementary planning guidance' which will give you the guidelines for building extensions (amongst other things) in your local area.

I presume that there will be no windows or only obscured glass windows in their side elevation. The guidance you are looking at would involve distances between habitable rooms and brick walls.

I hate to say it, but given that your house is already facing their brick wall and that they are not actually extending towards you, I can't see it contravening a guideline as the precedent is already set by that gable wall.

This is the biggest pitfall of new build estates. Guidelines on privacy and amenity are already relaxed for them and precedents are set.

Doozergirl

Fwiw, I would call the assigned planning officer when you get that letter.

You don't want to strain neighbour relations without good reason. Once you've looked at the planning guidance, ask the planning officer what their opinion is.

If they have concerns, they will address them without your input. If they don't, you discuss your views and listen to theirs. Ultimately that is all a written objection will do - make a suggestion to them which they can choose to look at in terms of planning law and agree, or not.

dc197

Doozergirl wrote: »

There isn't necessarily going to be a council planning meeting! This is the sort of thing that is usually decided by the planning officer under delegated powers.

It must vary by authority. Applications in my LA are discussed at a meeting at which the public can listen and developers and objectors can speak.

shaydoc

Doozergirl wrote: »

There isn't necessarily going to be a council planning meeting! This is the sort of thing that is usually decided by the planning officer under delegated powers.

OP, you need to look for your local authority's 'supplementary planning guidance' which will give you the guidelines for building extensions (amongst other things) in your local area.

I presume that there will be no windows or only obscured glass windows in their side elevation. The guidance you are looking at would involve distances between habitable rooms and brick walls.

I hate to say it, but given that your house is already facing their brick wall and that they are not actually extending towards you, I can't see it contravening a guideline as the precedent is already set by that gable wall.

This is the biggest pitfall of new build estates. Guidelines on privacy and amenity are already relaxed for them and precedents are set.

Certainly the 25 degree elevation rule and the 13.5m distance rule are what I am assuming could be cause for objection possibly ?

Jaguar_Skills

Ask the council whether they have considered the daylight sunlight implications of the proposal. A daylight and sunlight assessment should be carried out which would look at the effect on windows and also your garden.

Doozergirl

shaydoc wrote: »

Certainly the 25 degree elevation rule and the 13.5m distance rule are what I am assuming could be cause for objection possibly ?

The OP has to check their SPG. Not everywhere is the same. My area has no elevation guideline, but habitable room to wall is 12 metres.

There are no rules, only guidelines, which are frequently relaxed in new build estates...

Unless the half already directly facing the neighbour's wall is a habitable room, I don't see too much of a challenge being mounted.

shaydoc

Jaguar_Skills wrote: »

Ask the council whether they have considered the daylight sunlight implications of the proposal. A daylight and sunlight assessment should be carried out which would look at the effect on windows and also your garden.

Yes, I just want to make sure that no technical issue can impair "the enjoyment of our property"

e.g. "Possible Dominance of 2 habitable rooms in our house, the main living room and largest bedroom, due to the elevation of the neighbouring property extension" and

"Visual impact on the front our home, due to the nature of our housing layout"

Doozergirl

dc197 wrote: »

It must vary by authority. Applications in my LA are discussed at a meeting at which the public can listen and developers and objectors can speak.

That is a planning committee formed of councillors. Only certain cases go to committee, usually where five or more comments are raised that go against the planning officer's recommendation or a local councillor 'calls it in'.

It is not every case that goes and you would certainly habe to lodge an objection during the consultation period to be entitled to speak. 3 minutes maximum in total for each side, regardless of the swell of support.