Garden office planning permission issue? FLATS not houses

[GardenOfficer]

Neighbours built a garden office during lockdown. They are leaseholders, council is the freeholder. It's in a conservation area. It does comply with the rules about being less than 2m high and less than 50% of the garden area. However my understanding is that because they have a flat, not the whole house, is that it is not automatically a permitted development.

I'm sure they'll have asked the freeholder for permission. However the freeholder then needed to apply for planning permission. This didn't happen.

I spoke in general terms to someone from the local conservation society, and to the council planning department (though it isn't an actual planning officer you get on the general phone line). Both of them agreed that planning permission should have been sought.

The issues are - firstly I think it deters the council tenant family in the upstairs flat from accessing their section of garden, which is the back half. Because they would have to be walking down the side of it. In fact they never use their garden. The conservation society person said this was exactly why planning would have been required, to prevent such situations as one flat dominating a garden / causing loss of amenity to another flat in the building (is that right?).

I'm the next-door neighbour and I resent having to listen to their business phone calls for 40 hours a week if I'm in my own garden, because the office has glass floor to ceiling windows so no sound insulation, and anyway they often have the door open.

I have now broached the subject with them and they have said they will look into it! What is likely to happen? I guess just that the freeholder will need to make a retrospective application, and probably it will be waved through? I do know that houses around here often have garden offices with no problem, but I don't know the situation with flats. Also, I guess now that they know of the possible planning issue, I think they would need to clarify/resolve it before they would be able to sell? Which they also indicated they would be looking to do at some point as the situation isn't ideal for anyone.

Thanks for any of your thoughts!

I imagine the opposite will be true and they will be thanking you. Any decent solicitor acting on behalf of a buyer would be checking things like planning permission and /or building regulations being place and had you not raised it with the neighbour it may well have scuppered their sale. Now at least they will be able to get the legalities sorted out before they put their flat on the market.

Most companies would be quite upset if the calls could be overheard

Thanks for your reply. Since I've now told them about the office needing PP but it seems likely that it will get it, I guess they will just have to go through the process of applying for it if they are looking to sell.

I think I've spoken to them as much as is necessary and I doubt they want to hear any more from me! I did keep on talking with the guy last week after I had stopped shouting. To his credit he remained calm and we spoke for quite a while as he explained their situation.

I think they've been better about not letting the dog out at the crack of dawn since I flagged it as an issue. I don't really see there's any way of stopping the dog's aggressive barking at the sound of anything or anyone in neighbouring gardens, though. Some Many dogs just aren't suited to terraced living.

The one practical thing I can do is patch up the large hole around the tree branch. I've been in touch with a joiner I've used before and I'm waiting for him to have the time to come and build me something....

Oh, thank you, I'll be happy to think of it this way!

Our council has a form you fill out to report planning breaches. That's what I would do.

It seems weird to me that you care so much about an outside office that doesn't impact on your own property at all.
If the upstairs neighbour wanted to use the garden, there would be nothing to stop them staking their claim, and I can't really see why it bothers you that they don't seem fussed. Personally I wouldn't have an outdoor office if I was the owner of a flat with this type of garden because I know there would be nothing to stop my neighbour and using a lawnmower, playing music, letting their kids be noisy etc, but ultimately it's up to them.

Hearing other peoples noise is what happens when you live in close proximity. Can't you just get on with your own business?