Neighour's extension on my land

Reds-on-Sea

clutton wrote: »

NFH ?? Newly Found Husband ??

Neighbour from Hell

people are funny with their extensions aren't they? my NDNs (next door neighbours) applied for a huge extension, got denied of course (good job too as they have an overage on their property like me - woulda cost them a fortune) but it looks like they started work before it had even got approved.... is this usual practice? Half their garden is dug up etc etc, is this usual practice? Seems a bit premature. If I was going to spend a whole lot of money on an extension, I'd at least wait till it got approved before shelling out/starting work. They'll never get approval anyway. Wouldn't want to risk it if it means the council can come and rip it down? They can do that right? Is this what is likely to happen here if it turns out this extra bit of extension isn't approved?

Reds-on-Sea

I'm sorry to hear that Victor What you've said sounds SO unfair and rubbish. There must be a way round what they've done. Can they make decisions like that without even coming to inspect? I'd be hassling the planning office/building regulations place till they came and had a look for themselves.

prudryden

Have you found out the depth of the foundation trench yet?

VictorMeldew

Sorry - double post.

VictorMeldew

My neighbour didn't know the depth. He said that the new regulation is that you dig down to the level of clay, and then another foot and then lay the foundations.

My chartered surveyor said that although it's likely his foundations are lower than mine due to the 3ft step down, it would be very unlikely to cause any structural damage to my house. It'd be just my luck if it did though.

I've just phoned my CS to take things further. I'm going to email him pictures and diagrams of the plans submitted tonight, and then arrange for someone to come out and assess where the boundary is.

I think Im flogging a dead horse with the council. I don't think there is anything they can do about it. Even if he had to re-submit his plans for approval, they'd probably just be approved anyway.

prudryden

That sounds like a bit of nonsense. You better get down to the planning department and look at the plans. My neighbour was told by my council that he had to dig down 2.5meters for a one story extension because of a Eucalyptus (sp?) tree a good 30 ft. away. Because of having to go so deep, he now needs to either underpin another neighbours house or insert piles. Piles probably won't work because of the gravel soil.

You need to let him know that he will be held responsible if your house starts to slip? Very, Very expensive. Get it to him ASAP and in a legal format.

hethmar

I cant understand that bit about within permitted limits. If it were a one off bit of building then may be thats so, but its in fact part of a much larger extension isnt it so surely it should be included in that approval. I think some of these people just dont want any hassle or more paperwork to complete.

(Clutton, you have led a sheltered life not knowing what NFH means!!)

clutton_2

i once had a boyfriend who had a truly demonic NFH who played music from 5.45am on a Sunday morning till 5.00pm when his wife came home from work - it was so loud that the fabric of the house vibrated and made me feel physically nauseous.

Our only option was to go out all day - - this terrible situation actually made me understand why neighbours could murder one another.

My boyfriend used to go to bed wearing huge aircraft headphones to keep out some of the noise - but he rarely slept at his house on the weekend, or when the wife was out at work.

Environmental health were never operational at this time so could never visit to monitor the noise. He sold the house without having registered a complaint. The new purchasers were the same ethnic minority and they stood NOOO messing and the music stopped.

so, yes i do know of one NFH - but generally i am an optimist and saw no reason to classify this builder as anything like "from hell" - he just needed to be challenged - which is what OP did - and look what a good start to the negotiations he managed ... who knows how this will end - but Talking HAS to be the beginning of resolution to any dispute - whether it is here - or the IRA in Ireland. ...... or Palestine or anywhere

planning_officer

VictorMeldew wrote: »

I emailed the council planning officer and asked why retrospective permission wasn't required - this is the response I got -

"The single-storey extension is classed as being built under what is termed Permitted Development Rights – the amount of work you are able to do to your property before Planning Permission is required. Only Building regulations approval will have been required, which was obtained"

God that makes my blood boil... that is so wrong - this guy has no permitted development rights left, as his 2 storey extension takes him over that limit (unless it is very small indeed). This planning officer doesn't know what he is talking about!! This is national legislation, so no - it doesn't vary from council to council.

weeg

I think I have to disagree with prudryden on the subject of foundations.

There aren't really rules, such as 1m below the top of the clay, as such. The engineer who designed/ checked the plans will have looked at the ground and made an assessment of what foundations were needed. 2.5m is HUGE - at that depth I'd be putting in a raft, not strips. And actually, there is no reason for piles not to work in gravel soil. The thing about Eucalyptus trees is that they are thirsty, hence having to put the founds at a level that won't cause subsidence.

If the ground is good, one can use foundations that are pretty much the same width of the walls.

Basically, what i'm saying is that worrying about his foundations - especially if they are so far below yours is a bit of a red herring.

(And if I'm wrong here, please forgive me, I work under scottish building regs for the most part, and don't do houses in england)