I am SO cross with the local planning department!!

[Cavalierchaos]

I need to vent. I found out from my neighbour that the house behind mine has submitted planning permission for a dormer. I submitted an objection to this because it will directly overlook my yard and kitchen (terraced houses with tiny yards), limiting my privacy and light, but also because the house next to it (also behind mine) has a massive illegally built dormer that the planning dept decided could stay.

A month has passed and I haven't received any reply to my objection. I checked the planning page today and planning permission has been granted for this dormer. I'm absolutely furious that no one responded to my objection, and now I'll have two dormers looming above my property.

AIBU? I'm so upset. The light into my yard is already significantly impacted by the huge illegal dormer that looms over my house (they built it without planning permission, applied for retrospective and was declined, then when I pursued it they said it could stay cos the owner was too difficult!)

I feel so helpless.

Contact your local councillor

If you look on the planning portal has your comment been lodged on there? You might not get a reply to your email but your comment should be lodged on there by the planning team.
Unfortunately a neighbour complaining isn't grounds to refuse an application. There is a strict criteria for both refusing and allowing.

Sod all they can do if permission is granted already.

I would ring them. It mightnt lead to them being taken down but definitely do try. I hear you, I had a house built behind mine. It's not impacting my light too much but my garden doesn't feel as private anymore. They should have responded to your objection really. You might have been the only one objecting which didn't help. Could you talk to your neighbours I wonder, not the ones with the dorms, and see how they feel

I don’t see how a dormer is going to overlook your garden anymore than bedroom windows do , just because you object it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t go ahead . Your objection obviously wasn’t upheld .

They don't reply to your complaint its just lodged against the application.

Dormas don't really "loom" any more than the windows on the floor below. How are you more overlooked than you are already? They are very much a standard type of building work. I am not surprised your objection was ignored.

If it's within guidlines it's allowed and you can't appeal a positive decision but out of interest is it a front or back dormer?

You have every right to be upset, but someone is usually upset by planning decisions sadly. It's the nature of it and you not liking the outcome doesn't mean it's not the right decision.

They don’t have to reply. As long as your objection was registered and taken into account by the planning officer it can be determined according to planning policy.

The position of a dormer would not affect the allowed right to light. A dormer would not overlook you more than the upstairs windows.

The planning department does not respond to you but takes any objections into consideration when deciding whether to grant permission which they presumably have and have decided your objection should not prevent this work.

No comment on there :( I feel like they've not even read my objection.

They don’t respond personally to any comments, you need to look at the decision notice as part of the papers on the planning portal. That should indicate that they have received xx objections and they should respond to them in the decision notice

once it’s agreed though that’s it not a lot you can do other than move

Planning departments get hundreds of objection letters every week. There is no way they could reply to them all. The vast majority of planning departments are badly understaffed as it is.

It is rare that a rear dormer has such an impact on properties behind as to warrant a refusal of planning permission - most are permitted development, not even requiring PP.

The planning officer would have read your objection and then balanced that against the proposal and local council policy. As others have said, the dormer is unlikely to increase overlooking when existing windows are taken into account. It is unlikely to reduce your light because the roof into which it is inserted already exists.

It won't be on the decision notice. The officer's delegated report might refer to objections, but they don't have to.

You could ask your local councillor to look into your objection and how/if it was dealt with. There may be a report online summarising the objections and relevant policy applied. Does the decision notice offer any conditions or mitigations like opaque glass?

In London, dormers don't even need planning unless you are in a conservation area. They are done under permitted development. So I think it was always going to be unlikely you would succeed in preventing approval being granted. On our street (terraced), practically every house has one now so I suspect seen by most planning depts as very much standard.

Hmm that would suggest it wasn't received or read, yes. I would call them and ask.

Roof dormers would typically fall within permitted development rights - alterations you can make without needing planning permission. I am not surprised permission has been granted as the fall back position is that they could build some type of dormer under PD anyway.

This.
No worse than the view from back bedroom windows which overlook the gardens either side. Everyone has them in this area and I don’t think many people spend ages gazing out of them at the neighbours.

Aren’t they mostly permitted development anyway. If the one that was done retrospectively was barely outside the limits of permitted development they likely decided to let it go because they’re supposed to decide if it’s a good use of taxpayer money to take them to court etc. so say it’s 12” beyond what he would have had with Permitted development is it worth them spending £££ of our money trying to get it reduced? Probably not.

agree with others that dormers don’t really impact privacy more than a second floor window 🤷🏻‍♀️ when I lived in terraces with small back gardens a few had dormers and it felt no different

Have you looked in the associated documents section rather than the comments/consultations section?
Did you submit it online via the portal?

So the planning department won’t reply to your objection but will consider it under the National Planning Policy Framework and local planning policy.

Dormers are usually a given unless you are in a Conservation Area, National Park, have an Article 4 direction (removing PD rights) or something similar.

you will be able to look at the decision notice and understand how it complies with planning policy. To have any case with a right to light you really would need to have a brick wall by your window or a tower block next to your front door.

On the up side it will increase your house value more as there is a precedent set!

In a previous life, I was the clerk to a council's planning committee. They never acknowledged receipt of individual objections to applications, but the report that went before the committee included the number of objections and letters/emails in support, and included the reasons give and the number of people citing each one.

Being overlooked is rarely significant enough to get a minor application like this refused ime, and if the neighbouring property got retrospective approval, it's likely that a precedent has been established and this will be approved too.

Sorry.