To have pulled out of purchase?

[HouseSchmurchase]

We made an offer on a lovely big house. We loved everything about it apart from the garden being small, but it was a compromise we accepted. The small garden backs onto a private nursing home. A bit of googling revealed that a previous (fairly recent) owner put in a planning application to demolish it and put up several new large houses that threatened to block the light from the already small garden, and have balconies overlooking the first floor living room. Lots of objections were made and the owner of the nursing home withdrew his application (which didn't get to rejection stage) and sold the home to new management, who aren't yet at 50% capacity after a year of operation. If this nursing home makes no money we feel that a precedent has been set for the owners to demolish and build over it.....so on this basis we pulled out..as we have no idea what might happen in the future, and how it might affect the outlook, the light and value of the property..not to mention having to live beside a building site for months to years.
Since then we have somewhat regretted our decision, but today received an emailed from the agent asking if we want to reconsider.
AIBU to have pulled out of the purchase on the basis of the potential convoluted scenario of nursing home failure and plans for large building construction getting approval? Would it put anyone else off?

It would have cause me serious concerns too, and unless the house was otherwise perfect or I was getting an amazing deal I would probably pull out too.
Fingers crossed something else comes along soon for you!

Theres a lot of what-ifs there. I would have gone ahead if I loved the house. Sounds like you could talk the price down now ...

Well the application having been withdrawn suggests that the previous plans were unlikely to be permitted - this sometimes happens when an agent asks for an update on their application, is told there are lots of issues and rather than get a refusal, they withdraw the application. Makes no sense to me because there’s no shame in getting a refusal, and you get a report listing all the problems and grounds for refusal as well as the potential to appeal against the refusal. But some planning agents are keen to avoid the “stain” of a refusal.

So what was proposed and withdrawn may never happen. But a development of some kind, without detrimental impact to neighbours, make take place if the nursing home is unviable - depends on the planning policies in the local plan and what the issues were/what planning constraints there are.

You asked whether it would have put me off? No, probably not. But then I work in planning (for a local authority) and am pretty pragmatic about development as well as relatively confident about finding out what might be acceptable and assessing impact on my property. Totally get that others might react differently.

Is it on the local development plan as an area earmarked for development?

Anywhere you buy could be affected longer term by things you can’t yet see/predict, but if you really couldn’t live with it, then that was the right decision.

No precedent has been set by the way - the withdrawn application means nothing in terms of the potential for development - each case is looked at on its merits in relation to the application site and in this case there is no permission that might have set a precedent.

I think it was a massive what-if on your behalf. This is an application for planning permission which was objected to and later withdrawn.
What stage of the house buying process were you at? I think that makes a difference as to whether you were being unreasonable and/or unkind to the vendors or not.

Agree with lifecouldbeadream - everyone has their own idea of the level of risk they are willing to take. You didn’t make the wrong decision, if the potential that the site at the back could be developed outweighed to you the positives of the house.

Thanks for replies! We are so undecided.