Council building a 4 storey tower block in a small space 10 feet away from my mid terraced property

[UnshakenNeedsStirring]

Hi All, I need some advice please. I received a letter from our council in a leafy green part of SE London. They are building a 4 storey tower block right in the middle of our cul-de-sac where about 45 families live in mid terrace properties. The land is just 10 feet outside my bedroom window and currently has a community centre. It will need demolishing and following that years of pain and misery to have a tower block blocking our light and no space for kids to paly or kick a ball. The area is heavily built up anyway. There has been no regards to our lives and our health in this matter and the council seem to be bent on carrying this out. How do I stop it? Please help as I haven't slept in days and its affecting my mental health. Any advice will be appreciated.

The letter will presumably be a consultation letter. You will have the opportunity to put your argument forward as to why the building work shouldn’t go ahead. Blocking of light, proximity to your windows, and removal of estate facilities may be considered valid arguments; construction noise less so. Social housing is essential in London, it has to go somewhere, even if that temporarily inconveniences current residents.

First of all, 4 storeys isn’t a tower block. Have you had a look at the plans? Have they even been approved yet?
unfortunately, if you live in a city, all land is prime for redevelopment. Make sure you look carefully at the plans, and try to keep an open mind.

The vibrations and the noise will be impossible to bear. Yes social housing needs to go somewhere but 10 feet away from my house? Its madness. There have been 25 buildings built around the area. There is no green space left at all. The cul de sac we live in is very quiet and that was the reason I bought my home here. Now it looks like it will become impossible to live.

IT will block all the light I get in my house and the rest of the houses? I will have no breeze as there are houses at the back of my house and atm if I leave windows open in summer on both side of the house, my home stays cool on most days. Surely 10 feet away is a bit too close?

You submit an objection in writing, listing your reasons, to the planning department, and you get all your neighbours to do the same. Also approach your own local councillor and ask him to support your objections.
We successfully blocked the building of a large housing estate this way in my village.

Presumably this is just notification of the planning application?

you can object but you do need to know how to object for the right reasons.

you could try writing to your MP about the loss of green space/over development of the site etc.

Thanks @Babdoc Do you have any sample letters that you can perhaps share with me please? I will draft a letter objecting this as it will seriously affect my life and my mental health

The council sent surveyors around. The developers are ready to build apparently and contractors have been engaged. I dont know how much of that is true. The local councillor is in favour and his last letter was quiet threatening tbh

if an application is already in then you can find it online and comment. If it is just consultation letter prior to application there should be a meeting where plans can be viewed and opinions taken. Stay strong and if you can get the whole street on board with your objections

DON'T PANIC

Firstly, 4 storeys is not a tower block. This isn't the end of the world.

Secondly, mad as it sounds the council still needs to apply for planning permission from itself. You probably can't stop this - there is a massive housing shortage and it will be desperately needed if it's actually council housing - but you can use the planning process to mitigate the impact it has. Assuming what you've received is notification that planning permission has been applied for, download all the documents so you can see exactly what it is they're looking to build. Then do a google search to see what does and doesn't count as a valid planning objection.

The planning department will only be allowed to take some things into account and you want to make it as easy as possible for them to see where they can impose conditions that will make this less shit, such as how far up to the boundary they can build, where the windows are, where there is an opportunity to retain some green space for the community (this is a really good one to push since they're demolishing a community facility). No one becomes a planning officer because they want to make people's lives harder but they are really limited by planning law.

What you should be looking to do is engage with the process however silly and bureaucratic it might feel, which is why I said DON'T PANIC. Stop catastrophising, get some sleep, then talk to your calmest and most organised neighbour (is there someone who always gets the right bins out before everyone else? That's who you need now). You could also try your local councillor, though again take a deep breath first and remember the council is not a Borg collective trying to ruin your life but a lot of different people with different views and approaches.

If the letter has a planning number on it you can check online (you can for my council anyway). In fact, you can check without the number, just an address (or a close address)

Nimbyism at its finest

the "It's not a tower block" comments are slightly disingenuous I feel. It's about twice the height of the surrounding properties - imagine that 10ft from your house. It would certainly feel like a tower block rather than "just" a block of flats.

Sorry, I took so long typing my previous reply that I missed yours. What do you mean when you say your councillor's last letter was threatening?

Honestly, if you have the means, I’d move before any building work starts, no doubt having the building so close is bound to impact your house value, I’d get out now.

I would group together with other residents. A group of you will be better than one voice plus you can share the load of reading through the info and working on a strategy.

Are they planning to build this on the site of the existing building?

Have a look on your council planning portal to see if the planning application has been approved. Is the plan to demolish the current building or turn it into residential? Developers have some permitted development right to turn offices into housing without full planning applications.

Your local councillor shouldn't be rude and threatening. Ask them to explain what has been agreed and what the options are?

I don’t have a draft, and it’s important that you and your neighbours all write individually, rather than the council getting what looks like a photocopied standard template.
Your conplaint needs to focus on what will be permanent detriment- the loss of light, play space and amenity, and the too close proximity - rather than the temporary disruption of a building site, or your personal feelings, which will not merit consideration, sadly.
Your councillor can advise you of the best way to make your objections, and they will represent them to the council at meetings. It is useful to get them on your side as early as possible.

Not really. It's about appropriate development for a site. A small group of terraced houses or maisonettes would be appropriate and in keeping with the surroundings. Still annoying but less objectionable.

I don't doubt OP would also object to that

So is the new housing just replacing the footprint of the community centre or going over all the land? You don’t seem to know if it’s got pp or not. Does your street not know about this? Seems odd no one has noticed a possible development with contractors lined up. So I doubt it has pp. Repurposing land snd buildings is ok. I’m assuming 10 ft is just an alleyway? Do you have a garden? How would it affect this? Or do you just have a back yard? You need to see detailed plans as 3m away is very close if the existing building is not so close. What landscaping is proposed? What is your councillor saying?

Ehrn people talk about stopping development, it’s usually as local plan stage. The housing just goes up a less nimby area. So what’s the plan for your area? When was this development planned for the neighbourhood?

I think right to light isn’t a factor they take any notice of. You’ll need to check with someone more up to date. They do tend to take notice of out of keeping with neighbourhood so you can probably get it reduced in height.
Maybe try and start a Facebook group to encourage people to complain about the loss of a community space.

This is good advice and you need to tone down the hyperbole as well or you'll be dismissed as a bit dramatic I'm afraid. There are real people receiving these letters and assessing it so appeal to them. Put in the things about loss of light and lack of lack of local amenities.

Try to avoid saying things like it will be "impossible to live" for a person within 10ft of another building because it's patently untrue when people survive just fine in built up areas. You don't want to undermine the good points in your argument

Thanks @badgermushrooms I am already panicking. It does not have a planning permission number yet! I understand the social housing issue and I am all for it. However the space they have chosen is absolutely unsuitable, its right in front of my bedroom window.! There are 2 lovely trees about 100 years old. They are cutting them down too :( The houses already have cracks as they are about 60 years old. With the demolition and building works, it will cause more cracks to appear.

OP
I am also in London, in a block of flats though, in an area that is being heavily developed, and already has been.

There are a couple of things where we campaigned against it and won, but I think the winning argument was loss of green space, of which there is precious little. When so many shops were going in the High Street, it was obvious they could become flats instead.

Is there any similar argument to be made in your place?

I sympathise. I can't leave London because of elder care and it really is awful for health. Tbh if you can get out, I would, but with our overpopulation problem I'm not sure how long you will get peace elsewhere.

Thanks @SheWoreYellow I will ask one of my neighbours to start it on FB as I am not on it.