Flat roof top terrace. Is it legal?

phoebe1989seb

That's awful....good luck with getting it sorted, OP! Hopefully the relevant planning officer won't let you down and at the very least they'll have to apply for planning permission for the changes (which with any luck they won't get 😉).

I know how terrible it can be - at our last house (a very wide detached property that backed onto 4.5 gardens) one of the neighbours at the rear built a *summer house* at the bottom of their garden, backing directly onto our fence.

On the roof they made a viewing platform - although the only decent *view* from that position was directly into our pretty, partially wooded garden  - to sit out on. It was accessible from the huge trampoline that - combined with the wooden building - took up their entire outside space, so their three kids regularly leapt from the trampoline onto the roof and stood staring into our garden. The adults had chairs and often pointed them in our direction.

Fortunately for us our garden was large so we didn't have to be in their line of sight whilst outside, although because our garden was on a slight slope (and fairly shallow) they could see into our kitchen/family room which didn't feel very nice.

Our dogs thought it was a game and every time a kid popped up onto the roof they'd run down the garden and bark playfully at them. It became a complete PITA 🙄

When we attempted to attach some screening to our fence in case our dogs were becoming a nuisance to others, one of the neighbours adjoining the summer house property (whose garden also backed on to ours) told us in no uncertain terms what we were doing was unlawful and that their neighbours would object! We were hoping to sell soon and didn't want a dispute that had to be declared so gave up and planted a few tallish trees instead.....

TELLIT01

Martin_the_Unjust said:

macman said:

TELLIT01 said:

I wish you luck in getting it sorted.  A work colleague of mine had exactly the same problem.  He contacted the Planning officer who issued an order to replace the doors with a window, remove the barriers on the roof and stop using it.  The owner ignored the order but when my colleague contacted the Planning officer again he was told there was nothing more they could/would do.

They could have used enforcement procedures, why they decided not to is a separate issue. 

They decided not to because the complainant didn’t push hard enough. Planning 9 times out of 10 take the path of least resistance in enforcement.

I condensed the story.  My colleague finally gave up after a couple of year when the Planning Officer made it clear that they weren't going to put any more effort into enforcing the rules.  My colleague had seen copies of letters sent to the neighbour giving them timescales for removal, followed by a new date etc....

Indigo_and_Violet

littlemiss_sal said:

Oh gosh! That sounds dreadful. We are looking to move at the end of this year but it means summer being overlooked! Fingers crossed it’s taken seriously 

Assuming you own your place then this is even more reason to push hard on the complaint - allowing their illegal roof terrace to stay in place will likely negatively effect the value of your home. 
In our rented flat our upstairs neighbours built one that looked directly into our bedroom. Our landlord complained and it got taken down, but our council are quite active on planning matters. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Bottom line, Councils should act on this - they have no excuse not to (budgets might be an issue, but if they can't resolve this by making miscreants liable for the costs when they lose, then that's their call). If they drag their feet, pile on the pressure.

These sorts of things are a bane on people's lives - they have a huge and direct effect on the quality of their lives. It is unacceptable.

ccluedo

littlemiss_sal said:

TELLIT01 said:

I wish you luck in getting it sorted.  A work colleague of mine had exactly the same problem.  He contacted the Planning officer who issued an order to replace the doors with a window, remove the barriers on the roof and stop using it.  The owner ignored the order but when my colleague contacted the Planning officer again he was told there was nothing more they could/would do.

Oh gosh! That sounds dreadful. We are looking to move at the end of this year but it means summer being overlooked! Fingers crossed it’s taken seriously 

Even more important to get it dealt with quickly then as it could impact on the sale of your house!  The obvious privacy issues would certainly put me off!  Hope you get it resolved soon.

littlemiss_sal

Thank you everyone for your comments. I appreciate it, as I didn’t know if I was being silly fussing about feeling overlooked. I wish I could post a photo on here, as I don’t think how I can explain how over looked I am!

I emailed my local councillor today who is fab about anything and everything. He emailed a property compliance officer (might’ve said that wrong) from planning and she is happy to look into it for me and has asked for further photos
I will let you know how I get on.
thank you once again