Change of site plan after buying new build

faffydrinktap

I’m hoping to get a bit of advice to see if there’s actually anything i can do.

We bought our first home which is a new build just over a year ago, and a few months ago they told us and 22 other properties that they had put in a planning application to change the site plan. 

We have a garage at the back of our garden that was going to belong to a house that hadn’t been built yet, but now they want to build a smaller house there and take down the garage. One of the main reasons we bought the house was because the garage provided a bit of privacy from the houses behind, which is something you don’t tend to get in many new build developments. The sales team even used it as a selling point when they were showing us around. We had to use a help to buy scheme to buy the house so we used the equity loan, which means we owe 20% of the value of the house, and we can’t pay any of that back unless we have at least half of that to pay back in one go. We understood that going in so that’s fine, but as sad as it may sound, we probably would have carried on looking at houses if it hadn’t been for the garage being there. 

We were the only people to object to the new plan (as we were the only ones it affected) and now it has been approved. We’re stuck here for now because of the equity loan. 

So my question is, is there anything we can do? I don’t even know who to talk to to discuss things and see if there’s some sort of agreement we could come to. 

davidmcn

faffydrinktap said:

So my question is, is there anything we can do? 

Get used to change?
Developers will never promise to you what's going to happen to the remainder of the development. It's just one of the risks of buying newbuild.

Slithery

faffydrinktap said:

So my question is, is there anything we can do?

Nope, afraid not.

The only way that you can guarantee that the land around your property will never change is by owning it all yourself.

Davesnave

If permission's been granted, there's nothing you can discuss beyond the possible addition of mitigating features, like a wall or planting.

It's very common for site plans to change. I had it happen next to a house I inherited, where an open space was changed to a private house and garden. I thought the worst and it made my property hard to sell, but once built, I realised it was a better option, security-wise and not overbearing either.

You'd need to contact the site manager in the first instance. Sales staff know little and have no bearing on construction decisions.

rach_k

It could be a positive.  The garage behind your garden could have been used by the owner for loud hobbies, which would have made your garden an unpleasant place to sit.  Maybe a teenager learning to drum, or somebody who likes to play with power tools.  You can plant something to give you more privacy.  

Davesnave

Slithery said:

faffydrinktap said:

So my question is, is there anything we can do?

Nope, afraid not.

The only way that you can guarantee that the land around your property will never change is by owning it all yourself.

.....Which sounds fine, till you realise it also has to be maintained!

Sachs

Do you mean you objected to the planning application through the Council on the basis of overlooking/loss of privacy?

If you did this and the council disagreed with you by granting consent then you've reached the end of the line.

If you objected to the developer and the planning consent has been granted you're still at the end of the line because you objected in the wrong place.