Gutted a new house is being built directly facing my back garden?

[mentalhealth323]

I know this is a first world problem and the whole process I’ve deliberately not been a biased nimby.

Progress must happen, people need houses and don’t ever buy a house for the view (if you don’t own it).

I bloody well love my house, it’s nothing fancy, I’m not the greatest area but the back garden is long and very private. The USP for the house was the garden (ex council post war house) and the element of privacy.

Being able to go into the garden in a towel to grab clean washing, gardening in a bikini, work out without having to worry that I can only manage one push up…. Drink wine for five nights straight listening to my guilty playlist.

It looks like it’s going to be finalised (there’s already construction workers placing flags outside) and there’s going to be a huge three storey house built 10ms away from my garden fence directly opposite my house. Their fence will be on my boundary. There’s no way of blocking them from having the perfect view of 100% of my garden.

I didn’t contest the planning permission as they’re building facilities/didn’t want to be a nimby - it’s also a nationwide new build company and the council was very much on board… didn’t think we’d have a leg to stand on. I’ve known for the plans for a couple of weeks and I’m absolutely gutted/can’t shake it off.

NEVER buy a house facing a field because the way things are, it won't stay a field for very long.

My house has a mill and a field opposite, both are in danger of being developed and I'll be as gutted as you are.

I can see why - if the people behind us ever cut down their row of trees we'll be heavily overlooked by entire row of houses as street is at an angle to us and our's is a small garden - as house extended so dont think we'd be able to get trees in.

I would look at planting options - though 3 stories isn't great though- but pergola's, sails options [[https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/]] - all worth exploring as well as window films, blinds to at least mitigate some of the effects.

I'd be ringing the Council's planning department and talking to them about what the developers propose to do. Be a nimby, make a fuss, tell them how you're upset about your loss of privacy. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Years ago, an old neighbour of ours started building an enormous extension in their back garden. It looked way too big for permitted development, it was going to overlook our garden and affect our privacy so I rang the Council, asked them for advice and they dealt with it from there. The neighbours had to apply for retrospective planning consent and were not permitted any windows that overlooked our garden.

This is the problem with buying a house with a view or privacy sadly.It seems incredible to me that these homes can literally go up anywhere.There is a Plan for 18 flats to be built on the site of one house in a nearby town .No parking provision for any of them! The pretty green space nearby is being built on .The traffic will be horrendous.The land was Green Belt FFS. No idea how they get away with it!

Not sure how I messed that link up www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/ - they have many options - even if you buy elsewhere.

Plant bamboo along the fences. Fast growing, and grows tall.

You can't really complain now then. You should have contested it and got them to make the house windows face a different way

You can’t ‘make’ the developers do that - that comes under planning conditions and only the councils can set those.

Plant bamboo! (ALWAYS in planters) It grows super quick and won't block light while still giving a screen. We live in a new build and I feel a bit guilty because it's on previously open farm land and while it doesn't block what used to be a lovely view from a nearby road, it certainly doesn't improve it.

That really does suck and you do sound lovely about it.
Nearby neighbours planted bamboo in pots in the ground and it’s grown about 4m taller in 2 years, that would give you a quick screen. Or maybe have fun sectioning off your garden to make little bits of secret garden with fencing and planting etc to give you the privacy you had previously.
But still sucks

No you are not being unreasonable.

Have a look at this www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/the-8-best-perfect-for-privacy-garden-trees/ . The key I think is to plant trees and put up arches and things to give cover in the garden.

Make a space where you can't be seen.

Alternatively carry on doing what you do but more loudly and see how long it takes them to draw their curtains all the time.

While I sympathise, could I ask to think before you use trees? My neighbours have huge evergreen conifers that block the sun at various points of the day which means their gardens and bathed in the sun all day, while mine has huge shadows. In winter, it is particularly depressing. I love trees, but have deliberately picked deciduous ones that filter rather than block. Makes a huge difference.

Same happened to my dad. He has planted silver birch trees along the boundary and while still not huge they are beautiful. He was also dreading it, but the people who moved in are lovely and he has really nice neighbours out of it ( he is not overly sociable but they are not intrusive and they are pleasant and a positive addition )

But where should they build houses? I'm a Londoner so have no experience of never being overlooked.

@LndnGrl

I didn’t contest the planning permission as they’re building facilities/didn’t want to be a nimby

You can't really complain now then. You should have contested it and got them to make the house windows face a different way.

Yes, there is a new build 6' from my back fence and the developer put a squat Dutch bungalow style house, rather than a full 2 or even 3 storey house behind us, with no facing windows. Admittedly this was a premium development, so larger than average plots and mostly detached but part of the planning consultation allows you to request this level of consideration.

The developers also put in the trees for screening. Probably so that the people in the shiny new expensive houses didn't have to look at our scruffy old ones 😅

Anybody moving - please avoid anywhere overlooking a field or in a particularly leafy n green area - we loved a house facing fields and chose a house bedded into suburbia instead - we don’t have a view to lose and the houses near us are all too small to be up scaled into flats

It’s the only way

I live fairly totally and they’re building 3000 houses on our town, it’s ridiculous- we are mainly farming and commuting here - there’s no reason for anybody to parotxialt want to live here 🤷‍♀️

My neighbours have huge evergreen conifers that block the sun at various points of the day

We're south facing and quite like the shade behind people's conifers give - but yes I know my parents had years of I think ash tree blocking all the light in summer and little trees trying to grow all over the lawn.

But there are some lovely options out there - but full grown trees do cost a lot and it may be a long term project to bring privacy back.

YANBU, but I would have contested it being three storey if all other houses around are two.

I feel for you OP. We actually withdrew offers on two houses last year as they had beautiful countryside views and turned out both villages are about to have a total of 4500 houses built across all of the fields and countryside so they won't even feel like village locations anymore. We ended up buying a house that overlooks a site of historic significance and protected woodland as it was the best way we felt we could feel reassured that our view wouldn't change drastically. It's all such a gamble. I'd definitely be planting trees assuming this won't throw your garden into shade as they grow? (but even then I think I'd prefer tree shade to neighbour view!)

Our neighbours bought the field at the back of our houses to prevent that ever happening.

I didn’t contest the planning permission as they’re building facilities/didn’t want to be a nimby

I can totally sympathise and empathise with this. Something very similar happened to us. It's a long and sorry tale but we allowed a big renovation and extension without complaint to happen to a house next door. The way it was done totally invaded our private space in our garden and we ended up moving out of our dream home because of the resulting noise and lack of privacy. Being "nice" didn't do us any favors whatsoever and I wish I had objected and the council would have probably taken our objections seriously based on other plans in our area.

Yes, you need to be backed onto an AONB, conversation area or SSSI to prevent development happening. And even then you get some chancer coming along at times.

conservation not conversation!

YANBU to be upset but why on earth didn’t you object? A development went up near us that was close to some existing houses. They raised a concern on privacy grounds and the result was that the build was changed so that only one window overlooked them and that had to have frosted glass in it.