Air conditioning unit on side of neighbour's house - best approach?

AdrianC

Doc_N said:

For instance, do we know it’s a newish development? Or a development at all?

We know the neighbour's house is just five years old...

metron said:

...a house built just 5 years ago...

...and it does sound to me as the OP's may have been built at the same time...

metron said:

One little tip for a couple of you - not all detached houses are the same.  In villages they tend to be very different, not placed neatly in rows, not with windows neatly arranged just at the front and the back - windows can be on any wall.  Houses can be at any angle too.

...but I may well be mis-reading that. The neighbour's house is clearly a recent development - a "development" can be just one house, of course.

Doc_N said:
And he’s said that he HAS contacted the planners, who’ve actually made it clear they will enforce.

No, not quite. The OP merely asked them to adjudge on whether PP was required or not, totally anonymously.

metron said:

Just to update you on that, I've now spoken to the local authority (without providing name or address details - I still intend to resolve this without invoking enforcement action by Planning if possible).

Doc_N said:
As for the photo, that’s his choice - not ours. Is there some compulsion?

Of course not.

But those of us with substantial experience of planning can give an indication of how likely the LA are to require it to be moved.

He didn’t ask for views on what it looks like.

Isn't that ENTIRELY what the thread is about?

Let's go back to how it started:

metron said:

Our new neighbours have decided to have air conditioning, and have had the external unit fixed towards the top of their house. It's pretty ugly looking, and will doubtless produce some noise, but although technically it probably requires planning permission (https://www.revk.uk/2018/07/air-conditioning-at-home-planning.html) I'm not keen on making a fuss about it.

My wife, however, is deeply upset by it - it looks hideous and has wrecked the view from most of our windows.

Any suggestions for persuading them, peaceably, to have it moved to ground level where it would be far less obtrusive?  I favour a chat, but I'm very keen to avoid falling out - no winners if that happens!

Do these things have to be mounted half way up a wall, or do they work just as well at ground level?  Not my area of expertise - I just want to find some way of keeping my wife from being so upset without antagonising the neighbours.

Doc_N said:
And the primary motivation looks to be to move an AC unit 2 metres down a wall to put it out of view

But this isn't about what it looks like, right...?

so unreasonable, given that the planners may have it removed altogether if it’s in a sensitive village location.

We have no idea if the location is "sensitive" or not, as the Batchworth Heath Conservation Area one introduced later in the thread as an example of enforcement clearly was.

The flipside is that the OP's own original link was to a non-"sensitive" case where enforcement merely approved the existing installation.

Would a new-build so close to an existing house (or more than one closely-located new-build) be permitted in a "sensitive" location?

The reasonableness of the location, in the likely view of the planners, is what a contextual photo could help us to indicate to the OP. It may be that a quick look will have everybody saying "Good grief, you're right - that's egregious!", or it could be that everybody will look and say "Your wife is over-reacting completely". We simply have no way of knowing.

The absence of a photo, in conjunction with the comments about gates and Londoners and "that's not how we do it here", does lead the reader towards inferences, however.

NameUnavailable

This thread is very entertaining I must say!

Gavin83

Doc_N said:

metron said:

Chumy said:

This thread just made my day!
OP is so sure of the outcome

No additional advice required

I had good advice from some people, and I considered all the sensible posts. The rest I just laughed at, and felt a little sorry for the posters who obviously live in a different world from the one we live in round here.

Following the advice, I formulated a plan of action, which is now in place.  We have very clear advice from the Planning Department urging us to make a complaint, but to be fair to our neighbours, with whom we get on perfectly well, we shall discuss the issues arising with them before we do anything.

I strongly suspect, looking further into all this, that they've been misled by the company selling the thing, and if that's the case they'll change the position without charge. We're not exactly talking about large sums of money, whoever pays for the work.

I'll feed back in due course, but meanwhile leave all the trolls to have their fun.  

This was the last appearance of the OP - some time ago. 

Sums it all up, and despite the snarling nonsense from the usual trolls who add nothing to any thread but criticism it seems perfectly fair and reasonable, bearing in mind that it wasn't the OP who broke the law and is in the wrong but the neighbour.

He's said he'll come back and update when there's anything to add.  I'm interested in that, especially if it has to go to enforcement, but apart from that, what's left to discuss here?  Isn't it all rather pointless now we all know these units need planning permission?

To be fair you're adding to this and are part of the problem. If you want this thread to stop, at least until the OP has some more information then stop posting.

I do agree with you though, there's nothing more to add until the OP decides what to do.

BikingBud

Doc_N said:

elsien said:

doodling said:

Hi,

Ignoring this particular case, I note that people in this thread are still stating that air-conditioning does not need planning permission.  This is wrong.  If the system has a cooling function then it needs planning permission.

The law (well, GPDR) was changed to permit the installation of heat pumps for heating only.

But  there are people who are also saying they've checked with their planning department and been told in their circumstances that they don't need it.
Out of interest, if there was a dispute in these circumstances and the planning department had given incorrect information, how would this stand? 

The problem is that people phone planning departments tend not to get put through to actual Planning Officers - just support staff with a limited knowledge. 

What actually matters is not what individuals say, but what tbe law says, and the law is crystal clear. 

Is advice given by personnel that work for the council not considered to be advice given on behalf of the council?

Therefore unless it is explicitly not planning advice the consumer could be expected to trust what has been freely given by a council employee.

980233

I may have missed this being pointed out in the previous 16 or so pages but it just occurred to me why the hell is this thread in  House Buying, Renting & Selling section?

Doc_N

Hugh_Jarce said:

I may have missed this being pointed out in the previous 16 or so pages but it just occurred to me why the hell is this thread in  House Buying, Renting & Selling section?

Maybe because it’s a relevant issue for people buying and selling houses, particularly in view of the planning issues raised which could impact on both buyers and sellers? And maybe because there isn’t a more appropriate category?

Does it matter?  It seems to have created a lot of interest and informed people’s knowledge of planning law.

Forwandert

I cant see how the conversation can really go well with the neighbour. 

Problem seems to be you're unhappy with the location of the AC unit. To move would no doubt cause several areas of their house that would need repairing plus reinstallation.If they dont want to move it and cause themselves the damage/repairs and you mention about lack of PP then they would need to try and obtain PP and if they need to do that there wouldn't really be any incentive to then move it and have the damage/repairs to contend with.

If someone mentioned the lack of PP to me I would be sorting that asap and it would be staying where it was.

If you dont mention the lack of PP and they agree to move it are you going to make them aware then? It might have been a genuine oversight. 

user1977

Hugh_Jarce said:

I may have missed this being pointed out in the previous 16 or so pages but it just occurred to me why the hell is this thread in  House Buying, Renting & Selling section?

Because this is generally the most appropriate place for neighbour disputes and the like.

Doozergirl

Doc_N said:

Hugh_Jarce said:

I may have missed this being pointed out in the previous 16 or so pages but it just occurred to me why the hell is this thread in  House Buying, Renting & Selling section?

Maybe because it’s a relevant issue for people buying and selling houses, particularly in view of the planning issues raised which could impact on both buyers and sellers? And maybe because there isn’t a more appropriate category?

Does it matter?  It seems to have created a lot of interest and informed people’s knowledge of planning law.

There is an In My Home Board that is the most suitable.  There is, however, quite a heavy crossover in the people that frequent the two boards and things rarely get moved.  

I'd reflect and take a bit of your own advice.  I've been here just as long as you and I haven't noticed any particular difference in behaviour.  There's always been the occasional spat, particularly when a majority feel that the OP (or their wife) isn't being particularly reasonable. How it gets to this long without a relevant photo, I have no idea, but in the last few pages a clear leader has emerged to lead the race for most abrasive personality.  

ispookie666

Doc_N said:

ispookie666 said:

A bit late. 
I recently installed 2 Aircon in our house. Applied for planning permission, discussed with the neighbours. I had to remove the larger 7.1kw unit as the planning officer/environmental agency required Noise assessment. 

Planning permission is not needed if you are only installing one unit, the unit size is less than 0.60cubic m, not in a conservation area. The installers had no clue about this, the council were mewh.. 

One thing to note - these are very very quiet units but as time goes, anything with a fan can become noisy. 

Adding a few more lengths of coppertubing should not be problem, but it is likely that they would not want to do this, lower condenser would be close to things in the garden. The only thing I could suggest is some sort of two sided enclosure to cover the ugly thing. 

A useful post for a change, which might help the OP with his question. Getting a bit dull and boring here with all the moaners and whingers constantly carping on because they haven't a clue what it's like to live somewhere outside a city, a town, or a huge housing estate.

Interesting comments on noise, though I don't think the OP has said much about noise so far? I'd assumed they were noisy, but maybe not from what you say.

As you'll see from various posts above though, you still need permission, even for one unit - the exemption you mention is for heat pumps - not AC units. The confusion has been caused by AC sellers deliberately misleading people.

Most of the current crop of Aircons are Inverter Air conditioner Heat pumps👻. Hence they qualify for 5% VAT and not the 20% . 

In the dead of the night, I can hear the fan when I stand right next to the unit. I doubt the fan motor will have to work hard, as we hardly get high temperature for long.