neighbours planning permission PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[danroll]

i live on a small dead end road in (the end) of three terrace houses. i have received a letter this morning advising my neighbour opposite is planning a build a 3 bedroom house on the land (1.5 metres) next to me.

our road is a privately owned road (by the neighbour i think) and is only wide enough for 1 car. the three of us rely on each other to co-operate in letting each other out if we need to go anywhere.

The planning details state the neighbour is planning to knock down the wall separating our road from his house and use this for access to the new house. This makes it impossible for the current residents to park the cars without blocking access to the new property.

Obvously the current residents and i will be objecting to this but can anyone advise what i should focus on in my letter, e.g. noise disruption, additional traffic, etc.

we have a side window on the house and will only be able to view the side of the new house if the build goes ahead and also have a one year old daughter who sleeps 3-4 hours during the day. A lot of construction noise will make this impossible.

the photos in the planning application have been taken in the day, there are pictures of my road with no cars on as we are all at work. this has created the illusion that the road is quite big. at night it's a completely different story and most of the time there isn't even enough room to get your bin out past the cars.

[cassa333]

What does it say on your deeds about row and right to park on the road? If you only have a row then he could make you park elsewhere!!

If you have a row and a right to park then he cannot block it otherwise he will be in breach.

You could start by objecting on the grounds of over developement and that access would be a problem. Get your camera out when all the cars are parked and put that in your response as well. Get a copy of the plans and make a note of the areas you are conserned about. This will give the planners a better idea of the problem.

Noise of the build is just something you may have to put up with but if it goes ahead could request reasonable times etc.

Depending on how close the foundations are to your plot then the PWA may come into play.

If his new build has windows that face you (1.5mtr from you) then you may be able to insist that the windows are frosted for privacy.

I would be inclined to object as soon as you can. If the others also have the same objections don't be tempted to copy the same letter. You can say the same thing but put it into your own words. They (planning) will take more notice.

[Mr Veritas]

As cassa says,
Get your objection in quickly(to the Council)
State clearly and without waffling (they hate that) what the reasons are for your objection.
If at all possible get others in your area to object as well.
However,please note that ALL objections to any development will be listed (and readable) on the Council's Planningwebsite,along with you name and address;so don't make any of your objection too inflammatory or personal.
Good Luck.

[buildersmate]

Yes, as cassa says.
Do NOT use the 'inconvenience during the time the builders are there' route under any circumstances. This is not a valid reason under planning legislation for turning down the application. (If necessary, constraints would be put on site working times).
If this site is within an existing settlement area (if it within a town, it will be), your best bet is the 'acceptable access' line.

[danroll]

this is the letter i've drafted to send - is there anything else i should be including, or omitting for that matter?

thanks
dan


Dear XXXXXXXX

We live adjacent to the proposed development site and are writing to ask that XXXX Council refuse this planning application from Mr. XXXXX.

Herein are our comments and objections relating to this planning application.

1. The new house will overlook our property; this will lead to a loss of privacy and will certainly impact on the peaceful enjoyment of our home and garden.

2. The building will be visually overbearing. It is an inappropriate design for this road. Such a large building would be totally out of keeping with the neighbouring properties, which are terraced houses.

3. XXXXX Avenue is already a busy and overcrowded road; the photographs contained in the planning application were taken in the day when all current residents of XXXXX Avenue are at work. This has created the illusion that the planned property will be easily accessible from XXXXX Road at all times. I have included photographs on the following pages which display how congested the road is after 16:00 Monday to Friday and weekends. We rely on co-operation from all parties when accessing or leaving our houses by vehicle and by allowing access to the new property will only exacerbate the problem for the current residents, and create a problem for the new residents.

4. My neighbours and I all have young children under the age of 3 who are allowed to play in XXXXX Avenue due to the minimal amount of traffic. If the residents of the new house are granted the exclusive use of XXXXX Avenue to access the property this will create a safety hazard for our children and will force the current residents to park on XXXXX Road, in turn reducing the amount of parking space for the residents of XXXXXRoad.

We invite you to

[danroll]

We invite you to visit our home to verify for yourself that the above objections are valid.

Therefore, we ask that XXXXX Council refuse this Planning Application and encourage Mr XXXXX to resubmit a building design that is less intrusive on neighbouring houses and provides alternate access to the property, which will allow the residents of 2, 4, and 6 XXXXX Avenue to retain sufficient space for parking and will prevent additional traffic disturbing the peacefulness and safety of our road.
Should you require any additional information, clarification of any comments made, or would like to arrange a visit to our home; please contact us on XXXXXX.

Yours sincerely

[danroll]

just for the record - when the kids play they're always supervised, i put it in for extra reasoning.

cheers

[Mr Veritas]

danroll,
I think your letter is great,short but to the point.
We can only hope that your neighbours are not apathetic and don't bother,thinking that one effective letter(yours) will do all the business,of course it won't.
Thye have to get their fingers out too,and make sure the Council realise just HOW MUCH disquiet and objection there is to this new proposed property.
If they only receive one objection (yours) they may think it is vindictiveness.So do try and rally the troops,and make them realise (if they don't already) just what effect this new building would have on you and your families.In other words don't let them leave it all to you.
I wish you well.

[bushbaby_de]

Danroll, a very good letter. However I would think twice about putting your phone number on the letter and it becomes a part of the public application number that can be viewed by anyone and may even be put online. When you get the acknowledgement letter from the Council I would be tempted to email the case officer to say if they want to visit your house to contact you on XXX to keep your provate phone number off the public file.

[danroll]

thanks bushbaby!

[danroll]

what about my address. surely anyone could ring directory inquiries and obtain my number based on the address?

[danroll]

thanks for spotting that. what i really mean is the road is very crowded. we have 5 cars belonging to 3 houses and so it's extremely crammed.

but, because it's a dead end and the only cars belong to the residents the kids are free to run around playing. if anyone needs to get out the kids are taken inside whilst cars are backed out and put back on. Then they go back out there.

i'll amend the letter to make it clearer!

thanks

[kira000]

Just a thought, you could consider putting something in about the fact that with the additional access/traffic into the road for the new property, you are concerned that in the case of emergency, it would preclude fast and easy access.

Of course, other more expert folks might shoot that down, but it seems the kind of thing the planning committee will take seriously.

[danroll]

it's a good point, but don't you think they may ask what we'd do in an emergency given the current situation?

basically the two end houses are completely blocked in. there has been an occasion when i needed to get out late at night to get medicine for my daughter which mean knocking the two other neighbours up (i live at the very end). i don't want to leave myself open for them to poke holes in my story.

[Nosha123]

I would get in touch with the Highways Agency too to see if they will support your opposition to the application based on the access to and from the site during and after the build. If they agree they would add some hefty weight to your objection letter.