Neighbour's Planning application, help!

liuaq

Well, we had a nice surprise!
We got a letter from the Planning Department.

Our neighbour (who we thought we were friendly with) have applied for planning permission to build a double garage extension right on our boundary line, in front of their current double garage whichev they use for storage.

We live in detached bungalows but our separate garages share a wall on the boundary line and because our bungalow is at a 90 degree angle to our neighbours, this will leave us with a three metre wall less than four metres from our kitchen window.

Even better, the builders of the estate had to "terrace" sloping land to build, making this garage a metre higher at our boundary than it would be flat land.So, that's a four metre wall in reality.

The garages also share a flat roof so if The new roof shutter their existing garage, the rainfall drainage in our roof would be greatly increased.

The disruption and logistics appear horrendous.

Apparently, the Planning officer advised our neighbours that their plans were unacceptable before they made formal application and they replied that they would appeal!
The Planning Officer has now seen the actual site and told them to remove the garage from their plans.

This has all led me to read up on planning and I think that we will lodge an objection, simply because this will keep us in the loop and let us know if things go to appeal.Silence will assume agreement.

I have no faith in our neighbours, as my research shows that they have already broken planning rules twice since buying the property three and a half years ago.They have built an eight foot fence against their other neighbour's property when only two metres is permissible. They have built a front porch three metres by metres (9 square metres) when it should have been only 3 square metres.This pitch will about an extension that they want in the "bungalow proper"!
 The Planning Office doesn't know about this as the "existing plan" now submitted by them is not the "original" plan of the building before they moved in.We didn't know any of this before they submitted their current application.

I don't want to "Play dirty" with our neighbours but they have a large rear garden and can extend there to get the same result without all the implications ! They chose to disregard any impact on us .

My plan is to wait to see if they appeal the planning decision and then I'll have to resort to the Party wall Act 1996.

Any advice gratefully received!

anselld

Lodge an objection and let the planers do their job.  If there is genuine harm to your property it will not be allowed either at the initial stage or at appeal.

The party wall act does not stop them building whaterver they may get approved.  It simply ensures that your property is not damaged in the process.

Titus_Wadd

Definitely submit your comments but frame in terms that are relevant to planning (the council website should list factors they would consider and those they won't). Don't  use sarcasm.
Getting another dept to oppose the  application would carry more weight than a couple of neighbours' views, so any aspect that might fall under Environmental Health, or Technical Services (eg drainage problems) would help.
Don't be afraid to telephone the departments to ask their opinion (don't be a frequent-caller nuisance though).  Best of luck.

liuaq

Thanks for the replies. Part of me did hope that the answers would help others and a big part of me was letting off steam!
It's quite scary how few rights you actually have to protect the property that you work so hard to get and I think that the fact that they've been so nice to our face while doing this has awoken my bad angel.

Woolsery

liuaq said:

Thanks for the replies. Part of me did hope that the answers would help others

They will, but every case is unique. If you start a thread without a simple diagram of what's about to happen, then it's reasonable for others to assume you wish the situation to be unidentifiable. The best way to help others help you is always with photos and real plans, redacted as required, but that does sometimes lead to identification.

Bendy_House

Liauq, have you had a letter from the planning department as you normally would?

It would appear that you have legitimate objections just under the normal planning rules - height, for example - so object. And it'll be interesting to hear what JS has to say about light.

As said before, keep it factual, unemotive, to the point.

If they modify their plans to the point they DO get approved, then you will definitely be insisting on the PWA being enacted, and a surveyor engaged to ensure things like no encroachment, rainwater drainage etc.

Out of interest, when did they build their oversized porch?!

And, yes, remain polite and approachable to your neighb's all times, but do not trust them an inch. Especially if they become more 'friendly' or seemingly 'reasonable'... By their very ATTEMPT an an oversized extension, I fear they have shown their true calibre; completely self-serving and untrustworthy.

Smile, but don't trust.

Titus_Wadd

Generally I'm an email person, I prefer it to making a phone call.  However I have found speaking to planning to be constructive.  As you make a general enquiry about your neighbour's  application it would be easy to comment that you're surprised they got permission for their porch, fence etc and see if they bite and ask about these changes.  If you tell tales in writing there's a risk your neighbours will find out it was you and the reality is (in the case of our planning department) enforcement starts with an invitation to apply for planning permission retrospectively.  Our enforcement event dept. will go to any lengths to avoid enforcement action!

Schwarzwald

Why not simply start by speaking with your neighbor in a friendly not aggressive way and voice your concerns and ask them to take it into perspective as you are worried and might consider objecting.
if they are sympathetic they will hear you out, if they are brushing you off, you also dont have to be nice and play along, also in light of their apparent other wrongdoings when it comes to planning.

but i would defo start with a simple conversation …

liuaq

Hi:
They bought the property three and a half years ago and their building works were completed about a year after that. I was quite happy to see the porta-loo go from their front garden, it was like Dr. Who's poorer relative had landed next door.

When we received the notification, we only had 16 days left to lodge an objection so I wrote a polite letter to my neighbours saying that we had serious concerns but would like to give them the opportunity to talk to us by a particular date to give us a chance to respond.
We have agreed to meet six days before the deadline.

This may not be necessary.

I contacted the Planning Office the day after we received the letter and he turned up the same day. He has subsequently told our neighbours to take the garage off their plans (seeing the plot has confirmed his initial pre-application advice to them)although he will approve an extension of their property in the other direction abutting the "porch". We are awaiting our neighbour's response to him.

He is fully aware that they have plenty of room at the back of their property to extend without planning permission.This would cause us much less disruption as the land is flatter and it would be completely obscured by our garage but the poor things would sacrifice their barbeque area.There might still be a party wall issue but we know what to look out for now.

Bendy_House

Keep a chronological account of everything that was said, by everyone concerned.

The date of the PO's visit, for example, what was said by him, etc etc etc.

liuaq

Another thing that our neighbours did was to enclose a passageway between their garage and their bungalow so that a small part of their roof now drains into the shared flat roof.
In other words, they have attached our garage to their property.
They say that they have no plans for converting this garage into anything else, but have already turned part of it into an informal utility area with boiler, sink, washer and gaspipe out to a gas barbeque I their patio.
Apparently it is much easier to get approval for change of use of an attached garage than an unattached garage.
Given the past history and their desire to push everything right up to and over the letter of the law piece by piece, what's coming next?