Seeking To Challenge Neighbour's Proposed Garage Conversion

hitman126

I have a detached property that is linked to a row of terraced properties only through my immediate neighbour's garage of approximately 5 meters high. The houses are estimated to be of a 1930s/1940s construction and I suspect the garage to have been part of the original build.

My neighbour has however now submitted an application to the local Council to convert and extend upward and to the rear, this single-storey garage to infill the space between mine and his property. His architectural drawings propose a gap of 50 millimeters (1.9 inches) between his wall and that of mine, which to all intents and purposes and along with several other concerns, will result in:

1. My property practically becoming part of the line of terraced properties.

2. His development literally merging our respective roofs and me losing all of my roof guttering on that side of my property.

As expected, his proposed development is all subject to having a Party Wall Agreement in place and so he's now reached out to me for consent. Naturally, I have expressed my concerns (which he's at least acknowledged and in a way agrees with) and I'm now seeking to submit a strong objection to the council and any other appropriate body, to stop the structural integrity and value of my property from being compromised.

By the way, when I was initially made aware of the neighbour's proposed plans a year ago, I submitted an objection to the Council, only to learn later that they had gone ahead to approve the development anyway. I had since planned to seek further adjudication on the matter, which has now been prompted following his Party Wall Agreement request.      

Any advice or recommendation on how I can proceed next or where I can seek and obtain further assistance on this would be greatly appreciated.

FreeBear

hitman126 said:  His architectural drawings propose a gap of 50 millimeters (1.9 inches) between his wall and that of mine, which to all intents and purposes and along with several other concerns, will result in:

Unless he digs below your foundations and then underneath, he most likely will not be able to put in an adequate foundation for his wall. If he can't, the resulting gap will be more than 50mm - Most likely around 200mm. Insufficient for you to undertake any maintenance on your wall or his.

How best to frame an objection, I'll leave to others..

Section62

hitman126 said:

...As expected, his proposed development is all subject to having a Party Wall Agreement in place and so he's now reached out to me for consent. Naturally, I have expressed my concerns (which he's at least acknowledged and in a way agrees with) and I'm now seeking to submit a strong objection to the council and any other appropriate body, to stop the structural integrity and value of my property from being compromised.

By the way, when I was initially made aware of the neighbour's proposed plans a year ago, I submitted an objection to the Council, only to learn later that they had gone ahead to approve the development anyway. I had since planned to seek further adjudication on the matter, which has now been prompted following his Party Wall Agreement request....    

In terms of planning (and the council) once planning consent was granted your only recourse would have been judicial review (if you had any grounds) but by the sound of it you will now be timed out on this in any event.  There is no 'appeal' by objectors, you can only get the decision overturned by JR if the decision was irrational or the council acted unlawfully.

In terms of PWA there is no route to make an objection to the council as this is a private matter between yourself and the neighbour.  All you can do is to require them to pay for a PWS to act on your behalf - but the focus of the PWA is about protection of the structural integrity of your building(s), not preventing the neighbour doing the building work they want to do.