Objecting to a planning application - help please?

[Eglu]

There is a community group in my village wanting to turn a field behind my house into allotments. I really do not want this, and many of my neighbours feel the same.

We would like to object to the planning as soon as it goes in, but not sure how to best object.

Does anyone know the best reasons for a planning objection. We are concerned about water running off into our gardens and possible flood risk, as it is a steep hill.

Also we are concerned about the effect on the value of our houses. Is this a valid objection?

Anyone who knows about this, or has dealt with planning in the past. Would really appreciate some advice.

TIA

When we objected to a planning application we read the information from the council which explained what constitutes grounds for objection, and what doesn't We made sure that our objection was based only on relevant factors. Planning permission was duly granted.

Increased traffic - pedestrian or car?
If there is a good chance of water running off the land onto your gardens then that would be worth noting.

You might find that value of your house is either not affected or in fact affected positively. Often people are under the misapprehension that planning that goes through will have a negative impact but it can increase value depending on what is being planned.

Is the field a privately owned field or is it one which anyone can access? If it's privately owned but by making it into allotments anyone would be able to wander in, then you might be able to ask if it could compromise the security at the back of you house - but if they are allotments for neighbouring houses, this may not be a valid argument.

It's also worth bearing in mind that if the owner of the field is considering selling it to make it into allotments, they may consider selling it for other purposes too - what would you prefer, allotments behind your house, nicely kept, pretty flowers and veg growing, or a housing estate? If you object to allotments now and then later the owner sells to a building company, you might wish you had acquiesced to the allotment plan.
Good luck.

I'd be really surprised if it had any affect on the value of your house (no, it's not a valid objection).

My allotment is on a hill too and there is no water run off - there is really good drainage. So get someone to check this.

Agree that you need to look up what are valid grounds - I would suggest one might be increased cars (we're not allowed sheds on our allotment so we have to keep all tools in the car so we drive there).

House prices isn't really a valid objection and makes it much easier to write off the objectors as NIMBYs - disregarding their other points. Flooding is a good basis for objection and should be looked at.

Is the land allocated as anything in the local plan? It is available from the district council website. If not, you have a stronger basis for objections.

You could also investigate whether the field has been used by the community regularly for some years and meets the village green requirements.

Thanks for the replies. I didn't think property prices would be valid, but thought I would ask.

To answer some questions, the land is currently owned by the local housing association. Thay have in the past thought about building houses there, but that was not allowed.

I suppose I really need to wait until the planning application goes in to try and do something. Will check local plan though.

Have just had a look at the local plan, and there is nothing marked in that field. There is very little plans for any kind of development in the village at all.

If you have evidence to suggest that flood risk is a real concern then that in itself should be a valid objection.

However, I would have thought that any planting would alleviate flood risk rather than contribute to it? Could be wrong though.

Eglu - If the land is owned by a HA, I can understand why they want to utilise it in some way, and will keep trying until they get something through the local planning committee. Surely you would prefer allotments to more houses?

Is it the flooding you're worried about, or is it something else?

TBH, I can't understand why you think that the allotments might cause flooding - is there a particular reason that you think this might be the case? e.g. do you happen to know of some research that links increased cultivation with flooding? If so, I think you might need to make it very clear in your objection, as, if you don't mind me saying so, it does sound rather odd.

Are you actually worried about the effect on your property value, or on security, or something of the sort?

My main concern is that instead of the nice grass field we currently have, we will have an ugly eyesore. I know that is not a valid reason to object. It is quite asteep hill behind the house, and I think that taking the grass away and there being mainly soil for most of the year could possibly cause a flooding risk.

I think allotments will be hard to object to as they provide a community feel to a space and produce food and give people a sense of work and achievement If it was me I would rent one!

Is the nice grass field used by the community already for dog walking or ball games? This is a long shot but...

if you can get enough people to agree to petition you could establish that the field has prior access use as a community resource and development for allotments would conflict with this use.

Assuming there has been use and that it has not been on any understanding of permission subject to development by the owners.

Noddyholder, around 99% of the houses in our village have gardens. 90% of which have large gardens more than big enough to use for planting veg etc. I already have two plots in my garden and still plenty of space for grass for children to play on. And my garden is typical of the size of most in the village.

I used to walk past some allotments on my way to hospital appointments, and to be honest they weren't eyesores at all - it was lovely to see the veg and flowers growing, and it had a good community feel, plus it did seem to encourage wildlife.

I think allotments are great thats all.It doesn't matter that people have gardens allotments are SOCIAL and people interact swap seedlings advice etc and the one local to me has a real mix of ages too so good for community.Most people object to change but it is not about individuals who want everything to stay the same it is about a bigger picture.

I would grab the chance for allotments with both hands and kiss the ground they were on, frankly.

If the land is owned by a housing association they will put in again for building, or even sell on to a private builder who will not rest until the land is zoned for housing.

tbh I would rather look at more houses than allotments. I have never seen pretty allotments. Maybe I have just had bad experience. I also think there are better sites in our village for allotments if they are deemed necessary. Nice flat land with better access and not ahill that is hard to get to.

I am not against change in the village at all.

I am in a residents association that recently fought 2 development applications.

My advice would be:

Get the residents to group together. Invite people to a meeting.

Speak to your local planning officer. They cannot tell you what to say, but they will give advice about what is valid.

Speak to your local councillors and copy in letters of objection to them and to councillors on the planning committee = on the council's website.

Posters in windows work well if there is community cohesion on an issue (not if there are only a few of you}.

Look at the council's UDP (unitary development plan) or LDF (local development framework). Base your arguments on this as any decision on the land will have to be made in line with published policy. Never argue loss of value. It bears no weight and makes you look NIMBYish.

Finally, if the land is publicly accessible and has been used by significant number of local inhabitants for 20 years for recreational purposes - dog-walking, kids games, blackberrying - as of right, then you may be able to apply for registration as a village green, which stops all development. Contact the Open Spaces Society for advice on this.

That said, I like allotments too.