Play park nightmare - what are my rights?

[armstrong31]

I bought my house on a new estate, developed by a building consortium in March. Through the centre of the estate is a park which my neighnours and I were advised would be lined with trees and shrubs. There was no indication of anything other than this on the plans we have received. However, in the last few weeks a childrens's play park has been developed. This is now complete - only feet from my garden fence, and is a gang heaven. Firstly, neither myself nor any other residents who bought from the builders were informed of the play area, where do I stand? Secondly - the area is aesthetically ugly, noisy, full of litter - wholly inappropriate in a residential area, does it infringe my rights on this basis? We are all devastated. Needless to say, house values have plummeted.

[buildersmate]

Usually these open areas of land in a new development are part of the overall Planning Permission consent and the land itself is handed over to the Local Authority (or some other public body) as part of the scheme development (in much the same way as the roads get adopted by the Highways Authority). The purpose and layout of the open areas would normally be described in the original PP. Go to the Planning Dept and view the plans - they are public documents. That tells you what was planned, then you can judge how much variance has occurred. Developers don't typically spend money on extra facilities unless it was part of the requirement of the Development.

[armstrong31]

Thanks for the information Buildersmate - much appreciated! Annemarie