New neighbours extension plans

[Greenfingeredsue]

Hi all

My current neighbour has died. Now probate is completed her house is being sold.

Her son has prospective buyers. He has mentioned in passing to me that they want to extend the property out the back. I am wondering wtf they can’t just buy a house that meets their needs?

The gardens are quite big so there’s plenty of room for them to do this. However, we don’t want them to.

We need a new shed, so my husband has suggested we build a new one with a greenhouse on their side right as near to the boundary as we can, next to the house.

We’ll do this once contracts have been exchanged so we don’’t scupper the sale, plus they would have to get planning permission.

My only concern is that the new neighbours could force us to dismantle them so the builders can work?

Nimby alert

If you don't want anyone who buys the house to extend it (despite it sounding like the sort of house which would be ideal for an extension), why don't you buy it yourself?

Make your neighbour an offer.

Feel sorry for the poor people buying a house next door to you. You sound delightfully irrational.

I hope to god this is a reverse and you’re the ones buying the house next door?!

If not, YABU and you’re an obnoxious twit. ”I am wondering wtf they can’t just buy a house that meets their needs?” ermmmmmm maybe because they want to do it themselves and make it their own? Maybe they can’t afford a mortgage on a house that “suits their needs” so they’re buying a smaller more affordable one and doing it themselves? Maybe they can’t find one they like? Maybe they just want to do it themselves and want their nosy selfish curtain twitching neighbours to mind their own bloody business.

YABU... sounds like they'll be really pleased to have you as neighbours

Put your shed wherever you like but it sounds like you're doing it on purpose to scupper their plans.

Have you thought about the fact that the more obstructive you are, the more complicated the extension could become, therefore noisier and taking longer?
You won’t stop them extending so you might as well be accommodating possibly Male things easier for yourself.

We’re planning our extension at the minute. I’m very glad my neighbours aren’t like you.

Are you usually as petty minded as this?

Build the green house if you want, but if you are doing it just because you want to inconvenience the neighbour, you are quite strange. You don't know them yet.They could be lovely people. You own the house, they will own their house. So it's going to be a long term. Why do you want to jeopardise relationship with the neighbour even before knowing them?

I have checked my title deeds and we don’t have to allow access to neighbours.
Very unreasonable, I'm not sure that's true anyway otherwise people would block peoples driveways which I know happens but you are a bit of a twat to block someone's access on purpose.

Up to a point I agree with you about people buying the property they want rather than buying one with so-called potential and causing massive disruption with huge building projects. We've been living in builders' lorry chaos and swallowing other people's brick dust for years, but (forgive me if this has already been mentioned) you seem to have misunderstood planning permission.

If this is going to be a single storey extension then, as long as it meets certain conditions, it won't need planning permission and will be covered by permitted development. Your putting up a shed won't make a difference either way - either the extension qualifies for permitted development or it doesn't.

It is the noise and the disruption we don’t want.

Maybe you should have bought a house somewhere else that fitted your needs then! I feel sorry for your neighbours already. You sound like a right pain in the arse

Building a greenhouse or a shed will make no difference as to whether they will get planning permission or not, so have no idea why your husband is suggesting that.

Nor does any building noise/disruption form part of the planning decision.

There will probably be a certain amount they can do without the need to apply for planning, based on various criteria, so nothing you would be able to do to prevent that.

Also, If they do need pp, the decision would not be made on whether they can gain access to do the work - that would be down to them to sort out with the neighbours.

If others in similar properties locally have done similar work they would probably gain permission if required anyway.

I would suggest that if your reasons are based solely on you not wanting the work to be done, that you might like to look to the future and think if making it difficult for them would be worth losing good neighbourly relations.

They'll need planning permission anyway, but I doubt your greenhouse/shed would have any bearing on whether that's granted or not

They might be extending to provide a bedroom and bathroom with hoists for a disabled child. Would that be ok or do you not want disabled people either.

If it were me I would leave an ugly unpainted block wall facing your house.

Although I am not normally like this I hope one day you desperately need help and they tell you to get lost.

I can't believe that you are so cowardly you would allow them to waste money buying the place before showing your true colours.

Have a look at yourself.

You reap what you sow.

If this is going to be a single storey extension then, as long as it meets certain conditions, it won't need planning permission and will be covered by permitted development.
Oh, I hadn't realised this. Even more nuts to suggest a shed would preclude them building an extension.

To all the people saying that it will definitely be allowed under “permitted development” this is foolhardy: I think each council has different planning rules and it just depends. We found that out the hard way.

But, because the OP sounds like a classic nightmare NIMBY, I bloody hope it does come under permitted development so there’s nothing they can do about it.

Well since you asked, yes YABU and you sound very nasty and spiteful. They’re not even moved in yet and you’re already being the nightmare neighbour. They have every right to extend their house within council guidelines and don’t owe you a damn thing. You keep banging on about how you don’t have to give them access - then don’t! I feel very sorry for them, they don’t know what a nightmare they’re moving next to.

So why didn't you buy a house that met your needs, ie with a greenhouse shed already and no other people within hearing distance? It's hypocritical to expect other people to not make changes or additions to their houses when you want to do the same thing.

Wanting to build your structure where you do just because you think it will hamper their builders - it really, really won't - is spiteful and stupid a bit silly, you should put it in the most appropriate place. This isn't a game, you'll be kicking yourself if you realise a year down the line that your greenhouse/shed is in the totally wrong place (and it didn't even inconvenience the neighbours either).

I mean, honestly. WTF is wrong with you???! This is nasty behaviour and will only end up harming yourselves. Life's too short to be petty and unreasonable.

Just to give an opposing view we are in this very position as the OP at the moment. House next door (small detached) was sold early this year extremely cheaply but that's a whole other thread -- and new occupants are basically tearing it apart.
They have had planning permission to build a large Double dormer at the upstairs rear where there was no window before. This will directly overlook our garden which was absolutely not overlooked previously. The planning authorities had no problem with this.
The building works started in April and have been dreadful with incessant noise every day of the week, and highly inconsiderate parking of multiple builders' vans, including on the footpaths.
All this means that even in lockdown and the beautiful weather we have been driven inside from the garden due to the noise of drilling, hammering, banging and crashing and shouting and swearing.
(The neighbours on the other side actually had to speak to the owner about the constant, mindless swearing. Lots of children nearby. I'm not any kind of prude at all - I worked in a newsroom for over 20 years and the air was not just blue, it was purple. But it had a purpose. )
This whole situation has been extremely unpleasant in already trying circumstances.

You cannot do anything to avoid the noise and the disturbance unfortunately.

You CAN build or install legal shed/greenhouse/storage on your own property so you have a reasonable reason to be unable to accommodate builders to go on your property.

You can try to be friendly with the neighbours and stick to demands that builders strictly obey the current rules: hours of work and no unreasonable noise. Many builders think it's acceptable to leave a ridiculously loud radio on all day, that you can object to for example.

Bigger houses mean the general prices in the area go up, so your own house will increase in value - so much better than anti-social neighbours not maintaining their property and bringing the price down.

You sound unhinged quite frankly. I feel sorry for your poor neigjbours. They can do a permitted development without planning permission anyway. Are you jealous that you haven't thought or can't afford to do your own extension? It seems sad that you are willing to get off on the wrong foot with people that may end up being your neigjbours for several years.

*neighbours!

Op, do you work for the daily mail by any chance?

Piglet89 - the criteria for permitted development for single-storey extensions are published on the Planning Portal. There are limits around size etc so not every single-storey extension will be covered. Some local authorities have made Article 4 Directions to suspend PD rights in some or all of their area and rules are different for listed buildings or in conservation areas. OP can check the position where she lives.

You sound really horrible nasty and jealous!You need to move to a place where you have no neighbours. They are entitled to build an extension. You making life hard for them will not stop them and will make the build more difficult. It'll take longer and disrupt you more.