Planning permission guidance on single story extensions and differences in neighbouring plot heights

Bartoni79

Hi,
I wonder if someone could advise on local authority guidance for extensions? If the guidance is say maximum of 3M high for single stories and my property plot sits 50cms below the neighbour who has submitted plans for an extension of 3M high (so my plot is actually 3.5M below the height), am I permitted to object or is the 3M constrained by the plot in which the extension sits?

majy thanks 

grumbler

AFAIK, everything is measured from his ground level, not yours, - and this makes sense.

FreeBear

Bartoni79 said:

I wonder if someone could advise on local authority guidance for extensions? If the guidance is say maximum of 3M high for single stories and my property plot sits 50cms below the neighbour who has submitted plans for an extension of 3M high (so my plot is actually 3.5M below the height), am I permitted to object or is the 3M constrained by the plot in which the extension sits?

You can object on what ever grounds you like, but most objections wouldn't affect the planning decision. The one area that might affect the planning decision is if you can demonstrate a significant loss of light. Do tread carefully though, and consider neighbour relations.

Section62

Bartoni79 said:

I wonder if someone could advise on local authority guidance for extensions? If the guidance is say maximum of 3M high for single stories and my property plot sits 50cms below the neighbour who has submitted plans for an extension of 3M high (so my plot is actually 3.5M below the height), am I permitted to object or is the 3M constrained by the plot in which the extension sits?

If the neighbour has submitted a planning application or prior approval notice you have a right to comment.  That comment could be an objection because the extension will overshadow your garden (or something similar), but the council doesn't have to refuse the application just because you've objected.

What is the guidance which says a maximum of 3m?

There are permitted development rules which specify maximum dimensions, but these only apply to cases where the person wants to extend using permitted development rights.  If the extension exceeds those amounts they have to apply for planning consent - the PD rules don't restrict what you can do if you obtain full consent.

Councils also have guidance which reflects policies in their local plan.  For example they could have a policy that extensions in a particular area should exceed 'x' metres in height.  These policies and guidance are not hard and fast, the council has to consider each application on its own merits, so an application for a 3.5m extension cannot be refused without considering whether there is justification for the extra height.

In this case, the height should be measured from the ground adjacent to the extension within the neighbour's plot. If the guidance you've read comes from the council's local plan then you can make the point that because of the level difference the neighbour's extension will effectively be higher on your side, but the council won't necessarily decide to refuse the application on that basis.

Bartoni79

Ah that’s good to know. The extension is, with our lower plot considered 3.5m high and 11M long (our Garden is 7M long). So I’m not only concerned about the height but also the length.
Thanks 

HHarry

We’re in the opposite situation - we’ve applied for a single story extension where our Neighbour sits 4 or 5ft lower than us.  They have submitted an objection with the overall height being one issue.

 The Planning Officer has been in touch and asked us to make some ammendments to try and alleviate the issue.  We’ve swapped some ideas and come up with a revised design that has very little impact on what we want but will reduce the impact on our Neighbour.

 I don’t know what would have happened if we’d dug our feet in and said we weren’t prepared to make any changes.

Bartoni79

Thanks you. That’s useful to know. It’s a tricky situation trying to find a compromise between what can be an emotive situation. Could you move the extension a metre or so from the boundary thus reducing the impact of the prominence of the roof line?

HHarry

That might be one option, but obviously that directly impacts the finished size of the etxension and might not be acceptable to the neighbours.

Can the roof design be altered to lessen the impact.  Change the angle of the roof, or the direction of the pitch?  Lower the eaves giving a skeiling internally?

I don’t think you’ll get much input into the situation (other than your objection) but hopefully if the Planner sees it as a genuine issue he’ll liase with the applicant / architect.