Planning Permission required??

kbh4031

Hi guys,

If I wanted to open up my back garden, put a gate up and park my car there, would I need planning permission??

Many thanks

adaze

Can't see why you would need it. Do you have access from the highway?

m_13

From the Government's Planning Portal:

You will not need to apply for planning permission to take down a fence, wall,or gate, or to alter or improve an existing fence, wall or gate (no matter how high) if you don't increase its height. In a conservation area, however, you might need conservation area consent to take down a fence, wall or gate.

However, as adaze says you need to have recognised vehicular access to the point where you want to enter your garden. Do you have a vehicular right of way over where you want to drive your car to get to your garden? If getting there involves taking your car somewhere where you don't have rights to do so or mounting a kerb to get through then you may have problems.

Another thing to consider is whether having parking in your back garden will increase or reduce the value of your house. Our neighbours in Poole had a drive at the front of their house but his company van kept being broken into for the tools. He decided to take down the fence at the back of his garden and put in chippings to make a hard standing. The garden was small and the van was large so suddenly instead of a fence and a tree we could see a large white van. The view from his house was also changed as from his kitchen all they could see was a large white van. His children were constantly being told to keep away from the van in case they damaged it playing.

Is there a or restrictive covenant that would be breached by taking down the fence? Our neighbours in Poole rented the house and it turned out that there was a covenant that said the owner had to maintain a fence 1.8m tall along the rear boundary at all times. His landlord came and put the fence back up (luckily when the van wasn't there). The only houses that didn't have the covenant were those who were originally built with a garage at the back that was accessed from the access road.

Of course, you can take out idemnity policies to guard against action being taken on restrictive covenants (but you would probably still need to put it right) and adding parking in an urban area would probably add value. However, nothing is simple!

dander

You don't need planning permission as such, but the council have to build the pavement crossover and have conditions you have to meet - mostly about sightlines/safety type issues. In my local area, they charge £80 just to come have a look, then they tell you how much they'll charge. Our leaflet says the charge is usally between £400 and £2000!!! Then they add admin costs!

woodbutcher_2

My niece did this.The council wanted big bucks to do a dropped kerb.She didn't bother in the end,just drives over the kerb and pavement.No-one has said anything but i don't know what it's doing to her suspension.

kbh4031

Many thanks for your help guys.
It is in fact bad news for me, I was asking because my new neighbours have opened up their garden so the young lad can get his car there.
Last night until about 11pm they were slamming the car door every few minuetes until I went out to them :mad: .
At the moment they are reving their car and the exhaust fumes are coming directly through my window:mad:
My office (I work at home) Is nearest to where they park the car, and the lad has been in there with his music on ALL day today and yesterday.....

What a nightmare!!!

m_13

Oh dear. Similar to my neighbours in Poole then who parked a large white van in their back garden.

Have you checked your deeds to see if there is a restrictive covenant that says that you must maintain a fence along the rear boundary? If so, it is likely to be the same next door. How is he getting his car to the back garden?

It's difficult to know what to do without causing a neighbourly feud

kbh4031

There is a small lane/road that leads just to the back of our houses so they have opened the garden onto it. It does make sense for them to do that, we have a garage on the back of ours, its just that they obviously dont even consider their neighbours, and they have woke my kids up twice in the last week as their bedrooms are at the back of the house.
Oh Well...... Its a case of me going round there and complaining I suppose