To give you an update on the Backyard Bungalow saga?

[OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere]

I have kept quiet over the last few months not from any wish to be mysterious but because feck all has happened.

Well I say nothing has happened, the neighbours are now living in the bungalow and their house is occupied by a bewildering array of people. They are fairly quiet in the house but do many annoying things outside including talking on mobiles early in the morning and late at night and having sex in cars.

Anyway, got a letter from planning today telling me that planning permission for the mahoooosive fence they put up after they did all the annoying, noisy and intrusive building work, (the bastards) has been REFUSED.

Yes REFUSED! This is in no small part to the amazing letter written for me by MrsMarjoribanks. I can just picture their faces when they received it, their bemused looks as they tried to marry up the vision of ME with the letter in front of them

So the fecking feckers have to take down their ugly fecking 10 foot fence.
I hope they dont, I hope they continue to think they can get away with anything they like, thus drawing more attention to themselves and getting their just desserts. SO NER!

The word harassment is unnecessarily emotive and designed to intimidate you, IMO.

Mrs I am so pissed off with this LA for loads of reasons. I work for it and am a service user in a number of ways. We are an Olympic Borough and its like watching Rome burn as the Council fiddles away planting flowers and resurfacing roads and shinying up the place.
Our children's serivices, social services etc are in meltdown.
I am fully aware that Planning has been slashed and moved about and I am sure they are all as pissed off as I am.

But the annoying thing is that it is ALL there, they are just refusing to use it to stop this happening.
I think they may be sort of wary of opening the floodgates. The next google earth photo of this area is bound to show hundreds of these things in the back gardens.

Our neighbouring borough has a special task force specifically for sorting these out.

I really appreciate everyone's help on these threads. I have learnt so much and I know now that there are brilliant people working in Planning up and down the country. I also know more about the difficulties they face.

I just wish I had some of you working near me!

can you find out how they find their tennants/lodgers?
screenshot of gumtree? notice in corner shop?
that would prove that it's not family, then.

I had a look at gumtree and couldnt find anything.
I have done several 'room to rent' searches.

If only I could find something. arrrgggghhh

ask them knock politely on the window of the shag car ?
as there is such a turnover there must be something
they probably have a mobile no just for that...

If you go to Bing maps you can see the 'bungalow' in the aerial photo MrsD. When it gets to maximum zoom it vanishes again like you wish it would in real life.

It must be very close to the 50%

They have put up a new shed. Surely that puts them over the sodding 50%.
I have just looked on spare rooms.com. I think it might be worth keeping an eye on that site.

Sometimes I really wish I was the sort of person who could just let things go...
But I am not, so I wont.
Ner.

Yes, I can quite imagine that if they are massively over stretched and under resourced that they would be wary of opening the floodgates. Yours won't be the only bungalow in a back garden. If they enforce against yours they will have to approach all the complaints in the same way, it could be a massive drain on resources.

It's no excuse though. My authority have absolutely no money whatsoever and we have served an injunction against someone. We would be pursuing this. But we would be relying on the neighbour to evidence gather. It is the only way that sufficient evidence could be put together for a prosecution to have any chance of success. And if a prosecution wouldn't succeed, it is a waste of limited resources to pursue. So I can quite understand why they've asked you to do it.

I manage Development Control and Enforcement so I'm acutely aware of the delicate balancing act between budgets and providing an effective enforcement service with fewer staff and more breaches. It's a thankless task sometimes, although I love my job. That's why you need to shout because you need to get my equivalent's attention at your Council.

Try AirBnb if you think they are renting by the night. Or ninetofive - they are both likely culprits for advertising short term accommodation. Of course it could be that the council is using them as short term private landlords. Wouldn't that be ironic? Perhaps you should try the dogging sites since that's what they seem to be into?

I'd start a blog about it and encourage lots of people to link to it. Embarrass the council into taking action. Set up cameras on the side of your house and film the shagging etc.

for news of the eternal bungalow saga.

Am totally AGOG at the "family" you have living next door. What on earth are the planners thinking?

And FWIW the council didn't think it harrassment to visit me four times in the course of a month when a mendacious neighbour complained about our catflap and made various claims (including that we had put down decking - we had one strip by the side of a pond to get rid of a H&S risk of falling in) which they felt the need to investigate.

Listed building, conservation area, apparently you can't make changes to the doors without consent

Klaxon - FWIW the Council are as about that sort of complaint as the alleged offender. We are obliged to follow up every alleged breach of planning control though, even where the complainant is clearly an arsehole with an axe to grind.

You'd need listed building consent though, not planning permission. Cat flaps are reversible anyway, even if they were considered to affect the special architectural and historic character of the building, so unlikely to be a problem.

I manage conservation too...

MissM I've not found anything at all helpful so far. I need to renew my subscription to do a proper caselaw search.

a few websites for 'cheap rooms' in east london

www.intolondon.com/flatshare/
www.globrix.com/property/flatshare/
uk.easyroommate.com/south-east/london/east-london/walthamstow-flatshare/listings/l

1. I would shop them on the hosepipe because it would make you feel better.

1. Are they actually going in and out of the house, or are they just using the abomination?

1. How many ethnically different people are using the main house?

1. How many of the tennants are actually legally in this country?

Miss I wouldnt mind evidence gathering if it wasnt so bleedin obvious that the people living in the house are not from the same continent let alone the same family

Iy sounds as if the tenants are moving in and out, but it might just be worth checking the electoral roll to see how many are registered at that address.

"a few websites for 'cheap rooms' in east london"

• local shop windows?

I wonder how many of the ocupants are claiming HB etc for the rent payable to their "family members" . What about valuation for Council Tax ? Hope they're on a water meter.

I would be so tempted to sign them up to some junk mail addressed to:
Bungalow in the back garden
123 Made-up Road
But that would be naughty.

It won't be obvious to a magistrate though, who will have never seen or heard anything about this until a case comes before them (unless they're an MNer ). They will need cold, hard evidence if they are to convict.

Please realise I tell you this with the best of intentions - I want you to have the best possible chance of getting this bloody thing stopped.

Jins is right. Planning is meant to protect you from this kind of thing.

I think asking one of the friendlier tenants is a good idea.