To think my uncles neighbour can't build houses in his garden?!

[SodaFountain]

My aunt & uncle are retired and live in a quiet country road & have a very long garden. Their neighbour (a solicitor) has put in a planning application to extent his own house and build two more houses in his own garden... My uncle is devastated and obviously opposing it. I am surprised that the neighbour may be able to do this, any advice?!

My uncle did mention there were asbestos sheets in the garden (have been there years) which may have contaminated the land...

If he gets permission then course he can. Why is your uncle 'devastated'?

It will depend on what the policies are of the local Council. However, if the property is really in open countryside, and not within a village it is unlikely permission would be granted.
If the property is within the boundary of a settlement as defined within the Council's Local Plan, new dwellings may be acceptable subject to certain criteria being met.
If you look on the Council's website you should be able to see their local policies.

they need to comment on application with planning department. raise objections etc

If planning permission is granted then yes he can build in his own garden.

Why is your uncle 'devastated'?

Because his garden isn't overlooked, it's quiet and peaceful and it will be neither if two large houses are built meters away from it, that is why.

Well unfortunately there's not a lot he can do about it if planning permission has been granted

It's common near me. A lot of properties with larger gardens have sold off land as building plots once they have the planning permission.

My parents are like this - anyone wanting to build a new house in their quiet village is the devil, and they are very outraged that anyone would be allowed even consider applying to do so.

Really though, people have to live somewhere, and if the garden is huge and there is room for 2 houses, and he does the planning application properly and follows the law and regulations, why on earth shouldn't he build houses in his garden? Perhaps because your uncle is more important than his neighbor, or your uncle's wish for quiet is more important than 2 other families wishes for a house to live in...

We have a massive and very worrying housing shortage. Unless there is a very good reason, I tend to think that NIMBYism is pretty much always wrong. This is already residential because there are houses. Surely better than out of town development.

I'm biased, I work with some people who have to sleep rough or have 8 people in a one bed. If not more.

His land, and if he gets planning permission, he can do what he likes with it.

I can completely understand why your uncle is devastated. I imagine having two large houses overlooking his garden may not only limit his privacy but also lower his own house value.

I have lots of neighbours and 6 houses can see into my garden (if they wanted to). However, the other houses were here when we moved in. Yes, I would be annoyed if the 6 became 12.

Your uncle & aunt need to put a very strong opposition to the planning application in, otherwise I imagine the neighbour will be allowed to build on his land.

Lowering the value of your house isn't grounds for objecting to planning applications Lazy - limiting light and being able to see into your property from windows are though.

He presumably will be notified of the application and given the opportunity to object. How well do they get along with neighbours, has such as proposal been discussed before now ? They should be able to access details of the application via the council website or view at the council offices. That will also give specific areas for objection (access , being in keeping , environmental issues such as established trees and the type of ground although maybe that could be decontaminated etc). Such developments are a current trend but often the applicant will apply , a little cheekily, for as much as possible and then it gets watered down somewhat during the process. However recently there has been a backlash against this type of back garden development so the parish council may also object or it may be felt that it doesn't fit the local development plan .

My guess is that the type of development envisaged isn't going to do much to address the "housing shortage" Does that shortage even exist outside the London/SE bubble? In spite of the last development round here selling very very slowly (even before the crash), we're due for about 3000 extra houses on various greenfield sites because of central government targets. When we have concreted over everywhere and we all live in tiny houses with no garden and no parking with packed buses and trains and gridlocked roads what will we have gained exactly?

If the neighbour does this, then the uncle should as well, and with the profit he can buy an even nicer house than his was before it was overlooked.

Any chancer can apply for planning permission, getting it is another matter!

'Does that shortage even exist outside the London/SE bubble?'

YES!!!!

Someone on the road where I used to live had space in their large garden. They had plans drawn out for another plot plus house, got permission granted for the house then sold the land.

When we have concreted over everywhere and we all live in tiny houses with no garden and no parking with packed buses and trains and gridlocked roads what will we have gained exactly?

There's your problem. Houses. If we lived in flats with lovely outdoor communal space and lots of great, cheap transport, because densification means you can have this, we would be fine. People wanting a large house with a large garden, not overlooked, on a quiet road is one of the issues. This causes sprawl, expensive transport and services and a lack of space for everyone else.

Lots of people apply for, and get permission to build in their gardens. Other people do not get the permission they require and will either need to scale back on their plans or forget about them altogether. It all depends on the local authority. Your uncle will have the right to object to the proposed development. If the development does go ahead he MAY be entitled to compensation from the neighbour.

it is getting quite popular round here somebody built a garage and 6 months later it has been converted into small house i was also people are selling their gardens to builders and they arnt even that big but the plots are costing a fortune, so yes he can do it but your uncle can complain to the planning department and stop the planning permission,

Only 6% of Britain is built on.

We need a lot more houses.

We are already not self-sufficient for food, water and other resources. We have enough houses, but too many people. We are already the most densely populated large country in Europe. How many people do you think we can fit in here?

There are a lot of garage to tiny house conversions around here too. I love them they are so cute. If I was ever single / children grown up moved out etc I would love to live in a tiny garage bungalow