Can someone help me make sense of neighbour's adjacent demolition and my ?exposed foundation?

happenstome

I wanted to change my first comment but can't find a way to do it. The number of steps up to a patio is significant as to why it might or might not need planning permission.  I recall that was significant to what my neighbours were doing. Privacy and light are important factors which could have planning and regulatory implications. They might or might not have needed planning permission.

ThisIsWeird

The OP's neighb has had PPermission. That's not the issue.

Section62

happenstome said:

Did the neighbours get planning permission for this work? It is likely that it would have been necessary for them to have made a formal planning application. If they had applied for planning permission you should have been contacted as part of the process as you are the immediate neighbour. Did they set up a party wall agreement with you? It is likely that they needed to do so.
 Are there other implications in the work, e.g. would it cut out the light your building gets as you may have a right to light too particularly if the extension is a different size from the previous building that was there. Will it cause any permanent structural damage to your property? If the buildings are in a conservation area there may be stricter rules than there are in other areas. 
If they are building it without permission they may be asked to demolish it  by the planning department/council and this too could have a knock on effect on your building's stability. Best to get it sorted out before they do any more of it.

Welcome to the forum happenstome.

It usually helps to read posts carefully before replying - the neighbour here is building a patio rather than an extension, so much of what you've said isn't relevant to this situation.

The council won't ask someone to demolish something which would have an impact on a neighbouring property's stability.  They are far more likely to ask the person to make a retrospective application, or just ignore the planning breach.  If demolition was required - for example if a listed building was involved - then the person on whom the notice was served would be required to identify a solution which didn't impact on the stability of other buildings.

happenstome said:

I had a problem with neighbours, who among other things were doing work adjoining my house. They were  building a patio to a higher level than it was previously right up to a brand new wooden fence I had put there (it was my boundary). I asked the Planning Department's advice.  A planning officer visited them the day after  receiving my request for advice.  However instead of visiting me, as they had said, the planning officer went straight to them and told them what they could and couldn't do.
I don't want to put you off seeking the correct advice, but a word of caution, in my case it led to those neighbours taking revenge on me and  intimidating me so much so that I have had to move house. I think had I said to the planning officer to tread carefully and to inform them that close neighbours have legal rights,  it might not have escalated as much as  it did after her visit.  

This is because you can't dictate how planning enforcement officers do their job.  If they get a report of a planning breach then they will investigate in accordance with the council's policy.  They will only visit a neighbour if there was further information they needed, for example to assess whether the visual impact of the breach was significant.  Planning officers are primarily interested in planning law, your legal rights are largely a civil matter and if you want the neighbour notified that you have rights then that is for you to do (via a solicitor if appropriate) rather than expecting planning officers to convey that message for you.

They have to be neutral in their decision making, they can't be seen to be taking sides.

Section62

happenstome said:

PS Sometimes there are restrictions on removing buildings. They may not be allowed to just knock something down and build a patio. I once had a garage, in a 1930s house that had been there since the 1950s and I would only have been permitted to demolish it to replace it with one similar. I would not have been allowed to take it down and put a patio or anything else on its footprint.

That would only apply if the property was listed or in a conservation area, where the building itself (not the use it is put to) is considered to be of value.

Elsewhere, via a planning condition, you could be required to maintain 'x' parking spaces, but the condition couldn't specify that you had to keep the garage or replace it with a similar one.  Only if permitted development rights were removed would you need to get consent to demolish a garage and use the area as a patio, which for a 1950's garage would be incredibly unusual.

There must have been something quite unusual and specific about your property for that restriction to apply - I don't think it is something the OP's neighbour needs to be too worried about, especially as they already have consent for their planned changes.

stuart45

Drtkd said:

stuart45 said:

Drtkd said:

stuart45 said:

Is it going to be decking?

We're not sure but will find out. There was talk of it being decking with only minimal foundations. They wanted to still have space under the raised patio / deck to be able to store things.

Why is it important?

It's important because people are assuming that it will be a patio with a retaining wall built 2 inches away from your wall, backfilled and slabbed. That would take a massive amount of fill, and settlement would be an issue.
The obvious way to make a seating area is decking. This wouldn't affect your wall, apart from the rain bounce. Being a cavity wall, it can deal with that, but it's worth getting it rendered.

So have had a quick talk to them and it's actually a 5 x 3.5 m wide large 2m raised brick patio that they will be constructing! Won't this surely require excavation right next to the boundary wall? Does this change things?

How high was the wall before they demolished it?
It looks like there was either a wall or fence that restricted the plasterers from taking the render further down the wall to DPC level.
It does happen when an extension is built on the boundary that someone will raise the ground level above DPC for raised beds. Although it's not ideal, the cavity does offer some protection from damp penetration. 
Your wall looks like it's got a cavity tray fitted at the DPC, so that offers a bit of extra protection.