Neighbours Garden Office

[Soontobesingles]

My neighbours have recently started having work done to add an office/summer house thing to their garden. No planning permission and it is absolutely massive - to the point it will put 1/2 my lovey sunny garden in shade. I have told them that it is too high and they need planning permission. Builders insisting they don’t as something to do with a slope in the garden but rules are about height from foundations. Anyway, I have said I will report if it isn’t sufficiently reduced and both neighbour and builders are going mad saying £1,000s already spent on materials and plans, labour etc. AIBU to say I don’t care an will report? My garden is my sanctuary and many of my plants will die if shaded year round.

Good on you

Works have ceased, no formal planning application has been made and structural work (a frame) has not come down yet. Planning people say ‘works are under investigation’. So we wait!

Glad to see they have stopped and not restarted at least. Good luck!

Well done on getting planning involved

Best of luck

Thanks for the update - good luck!

Delighted to read this.

They are disgusting CF's and their utter selfishness would mean I would cause as much drama as possible regarding this and accept nothing but 100% adherence to planning.
Make sure everything is carefully photographed.
I also would be telling the builder that I will make sure that everyone I know is told how quick he was to throw up an eyesore that breaks local planning and conservation rules.

Make sure you have a wireless video door bell up at the front of your house and a handy thing is to have one upstairs on a window recording everything they are doing if you have a good view of their garden.

They have shown you exactly who they are and I wouldn't look at them again.

This was in the news recently - apparently the builder "misread" the plans and built the house too big and blocked the neighbour's light...

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/homes-property/woman-ordered-to-demolish-unneighbourly-and-overbearing-newbuild-home-by-council/ar-AA1ExhOY

What a ludicrous decision given the property to the left was given planning permission.

They're decent sized plots, so I can't see a problem with people building decent sized houses. Why are we all expected to live in small, crap houses?

Please note that "right to light" law is not one implemented by planning departments, but is a legality which you can pursue yourself outside the planning laws.

Context is everything with the bigger house to the left.

That property is to the north of the (now smaller, sandwiched) middle house and, when you see what it in turn is next to, the front and back of the new house align with the front and back of that neighbour.

The only property that would therefore actually have been potentially affected by light from this even bigger property isn't affected by it at all due to its own size and position. The bigger house does extend beyond next door at the back, but it's a single story extension only, not full height, like the other house.

The one that has now been rejected steps out significantly from the house to the northern side of it thereby blocking light from the back of their house. The back gardens are ESE facing, so the back of their house will be in shadow much earlier than before it was built.

The original plans were for the back of the two properties to be aligned, but the builder "accidentally" built it 3m longer.

The originally planned house was by no means small or crap.

The kitchen, for example, was supposed to be 8m (26ft) x 6.5m (21ft). The new kitchen is now 11m (36ft) x 6.5m!

The house they got permission for was plenty big enough. They just took the piss and thought no one would care if they built it bigger and blocked the neighbour's right to light in the process.

By all means report it if you think it breaches heights for PD, but just to set your expectations, that doesn't mean they won't be able to do it. Just that they need planning permission, which they might get if it's only overshadowing a portion of your garden (i.e not the whole thing and none of the windows of your home).
In your comments there's lots of "it's well beyond regs limit". This is just a slightly arbitrary limit if what is likely to be acceptable in most circumstances and what requires further scrutiny to make a decision based on a case by case basis- not a cap on what is allowed as a maximum.
By all means, great to find out either way, but don't assume this means they can't do it. If they apply retrospectively, it could still be granted

Sure. I understand if it’s within the planning regs they can go ahead. My point was the initial build did not seem as if it was within regs to me - esp given conservation area status. The fact works have stopped and no planning application made kind of proves my initial suspicions were correct. I’ll also add that since my OP the neighbour asked for a ‘sit down’ with them, their architects and builders to ‘find a way forward’. My answer was ‘your way forward is to get planning permission and build within the regs! I don’t need to be involved.’

Excellent response.

What did the cheeky neighbour say to that?

But what if it comes back within the regs?, might of been no harm to see what they had to say, if you still weren't happy you still go ahead, but they may of agreed to move it to the other side so as not to overshadow your garden. I hope it works out, I would also be upset to lose light and what little bit of sun we get from my garden too.

Then there’s nothing I can do. This neighbours has also done some pretty outrageous stuff with the boundaries of his property which would make moving the monstrosity extend over the boundary of his land. Another reason he doesn’t want planning involved. Why should I have to give up my time to liaise with architects who didn’t bother to check the regs in the first place?! If they were so sure it was within regulation why down tools for weeks? Why not submit a planning app?

Great, glad you're at least getting them to engage with you as a result and well done. Just wanted to make sure you weren't getting hopes up of definite refusal.
Hope it works out for you (and if it does go in for planning, see if you can find any connections with a planning consultant to give you a bit of friendly advice for any objections. I've often helped out friends /friends of friends in this regard)

Don't get involved is good. Before they try and bung you a few quid to stfu. Imagine trying to sell if the monstrosity stays there unofficially..

Still no progress or planning app submitted!

Thanks for the update OP hopefully your neighbours inconsiderate and probably illegal plan to build this thing is all just going to fizzle out. I wonder if they will dismantle what’s already been done?

Crossing my fingers that it doesn't get built at all :)

Don't wait until it's complete to report of they will only get a slap on the wrist, do it now to have any chance of change.

Good luck op, 👍 am rooting for you.
People are so selfish these days 😕

I really wish more people would learn what gaslighting really means and that it is NOT just another term for lying!