House Purchase but discovered Planning Application nearby

mije1983

morwok wrote: »

there is so much other space nearby that could be developed first.

No doubt they will be next in line then. Out of interest, what area are we talking about?

morwok

mije1983 wrote: »

No doubt they will be next in line then. Out of interest, what area are we talking about?

I'd rather not say publicly but have sent a PM if you are interested.

AdrianC

morwok wrote: »

I suppose this is fair comment however the area we are talking about if you could see you would never have thought it was reasonable to expect or even think they could plonk three 15 storey buildings when there is so much other space nearby that could be developed first. Money talks I guess when it comes to council's though.

Perhaps the people who own those other areas aren't looking to sell?

It's very simple. It's London. Development is, well, a fact of life. It doesn't matter what you think the likelihood of various plots being developed is - they could very well be developed at any time.

It just so happens that you've found this out before purchase. What if the application had gone in just after you'd completed?

Of course, the other angle is that the development has been public for at least six months, probably nearer a year - so if it's such a big deal for you, how come you're only discovering it now?

googler

Surely removing a car park and placing dwellings upon the site will improve your quality of life? It will reduce traffic movement, reduce air pollution, to name but two.

If you're near a tube station, any commuters moving into the new flats will be likely to commute by tube rather than car, etc etc

morwok

googler wrote: »

Surely removing a car park and placing dwellings upon the site will improve your quality of life? It will reduce traffic movement, reduce air pollution, to name but two.

If you're near a tube station, any commuters moving into the new flats will be likely to commute by tube rather than car, etc etc

I certainly don’t think this will be an improvement. The car park is relatively small with 60 spaces and is used for access to the park. We are potentially buying a 2nd floor flat and the edge of this 15 storey building will be less than 75m away so will significantly overlook the terrace.

As to why we have just found out I have said it was in the management pack from the seller and we did not check the council planning applications (lesson learnt) but I really believe you would not think this would be built on and you may not agree but I think the EA should have mentioned this.

Doozergirl

I'm trying to work out why the agent would know if it weren't obvious to you, either?

Agents are marketers, they market properties, they are not local planning experts, builders or solicitors, nor do vendors have to tell them very much at all.

morwok

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm trying to work out why the agent would know if it weren't obvious to you, either?

Agents are marketers, they market properties, they are not local planning experts, builders or solicitors, nor do vendors have to tell them very much at all.

They work almost exclusively in a small area and sell lots of flats in same development. I have spoken to them today and it seems they were aware.

googler

morwok wrote: »

I certainly don’t think this will be an improvement. The car park is relatively small ....

Well, IF the agent knew about the planned development, how they proceed(ed) is covered under the Consumer Protection Regulations; one guidance note on 'misleading omissions' as defined therein reads;


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"4.7 It is a breach of the CPRs for businesses to mislead consumers by failing to give them the information they need in order to make an informed decision, where this causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a different transactional decision. This is known as a misleading omission (regulation 6).
4.8 This might, for example, occur by leaving out or hiding important information ...
4.9 A misleading omission focuses on what you have not said – that is, information you have left out, hidden, not made clear or been slow to disclose, where this has or would have a
particular effect on the average consumer. The duty not to mislead by omission is limited to providing what is necessary information, described in the CPRs as 'material information'.

Material information
The CPRs define material information as 'the information that the average consumer needs, according to the context, to take an informed transactional decision'.

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In practice, this means equipping the average consumer with all the information they need to make a particular transactional decision on an informed basis. ...."
============================


I like to think of myself as an average consumer, and, as I pointed out above, it could be argued that replacement of a car park with housing, in London, might not be a material fact that would cause the average consumer to recoil in horror.

But, as you can see, the regulations are as vague as vague can be.
It used to be that the Property Misdescriptions Act outlined what was to be disclosed and what wasn't precisely, and it was all matters about the actual property for sale - not 'something' in the (ill-defined) local area that might make an 'average' consumer think again .....

morwok

Thanks googler we are going to visit again tomorrow now we know and see how we feel about it.

dc197

morwok wrote: »

It was on the forms from seller which is how we found out

morwok wrote: »

I am a little annoyed as I am not sure if we would have made an offer if we had known this and think the Estate Agent must have known and should have told us.

So a negative point has come to light during your conveyancing process, but before exchange. That's what this period is for - to find out as much as you can.

The vendor has not concealed this issue. The PIF is the correct place to have let you know about it.

The EA would not have known and even if they had known they are not in the business of listing negative points when you are on a viewing.

So being annoyed that you found out this information before exchanging contracts is a bit rich.