Strange question on false windows

annie501

Our neighbours doing construction work eventually blocked in some new window holes that were overlooking us, they did not include them in approved plans. They have left the sills there and now look like they might put false windows on outside, leaving us with the image we are overlooked but not in fact. Any idea how we stand with disputing this with council planning department? We obviously objected to planning when they started building new windows on extension without the necessary planning permission. Thanks for any help.

KeithP

annie501 said:

They have left the sills there and now look like they might put false windows on outside, leaving us with the image we are overlooked but not in fact. Any idea how we stand with disputing this with council planning department?

As you are not being overlooked, on what grounds do you want to object? 

TELLIT01

Maybe the OP thinks the neighbour will put family photo's in the false windows to look down at them.

FreeBear

annie501 said: They have left the sills there and now look like they might put false windows on outside,

The danger (and main concern) is at some point in the future, they may decide to open up the holes and put real windows in - You really want to see the sills removed and the area bricked up properly (without any lintels in place). Whilst this doesn't stops them from slipping in real windows in the future, it makes the task a lot more difficult.

Jeepers_Creepers

Hi Annie.

Have a word with your Planning department; explain the situation and your suspicion/concerns. Certainly ask for confirmation that they will act should the neighb try and fit windows later on and you make an official complaint. Try and get that in writing as well - you could email them about this.

And if you don't already have it, make sure to include Legal Protection in your house insurance on renewal; it shouldn't become an 'existing' issue until they actually try and fit windows, I don't think, so you should be covered. 

I have to say it seems quite likely that it's their intention to try and fit actual windows at a later date, presumably after the building work has been passed.

How close is this window to your boundary, and is on a side of their property that adds aesthetic value for them? I mean, would adding faux-windows make that elevation more attractive for them to look at or is it a house side of no great visual importance since it cannot really be viewed by them except when they walk down their side path, for instance? 

I mean, if this house side is, say, a path-width from your boundary so that only you can appreciate its stunning beauty, then you can be darned sure they aren't adding trompe l'oeils for your benefit, so almost certainly it's their plan to add real ones whenever they think they can get away with it. 

If, for some crazy reason, they do 'just' add 'false' windows there, would that be an issue for you? 

Anyhoo, contact the Planning Dept for advice.

TELLIT01

To me the most likely reason for leaving sill and lintel is simply the additional cost if they are removed.  By all means speak to the planning department but they may be limited in what they cando.  The windows have been removed and blocked up, and that is what the owner was ordered to do.

annie501

Thank you everyone for your replies. Yes our worry is that at a later stage windows will be added which directly look into our property and we lose our privacy. The neighbours have not followed the approved plans in several areas already and the council are not interested, had the windows been in the plans originally we would have objected. They had got to the stage of putting in any windows just the holes for them, when we objected to the council, they said they would block them up. It is a side area but will look odd on their massive extension. Just wondering if it’s how people in the know build what they want not putting the parts in the plans they think will be objected to and then building things differently. We don’t have any real experience of planning department.

Jeepers_Creepers

That is, indeed, how some people build (including my neighbour...). Most don't. 

It seems pretty clear that's how your neighb wished to operate too, and would have done if no-one had objected. So you now have a pretty good idea that (a) they were trying it on and (b) have left that wall in an easy state to try it on again. 

However, it would be such an obvious breach that I'm pretty sure the Planning Dept will act on it should you report any alteration. At the same time, tho' - check you have LP. 

Also get the ear of your local councillor and discuss this with him/her. Get them on-side now so they are primed to act as soon as there's cause.

Hopefully it won't happen, but you MUST act INSTANTLY if they do - the only thing that works with 'oles like them is decisive action to put them back in their box right away.