neighbours building extension without planning permission...

[bossykate]

hello everyone

our next door neighbours told us recently they wanted to build an extension to the back of their house. they let us know, they said, so we could think about it and discuss it with them if we had a problem. we get on with them well, although i wouldn't describe the relationship as "friends".

anyway, we're not thrilled about their proposal. it will be very noticeable from our garden and will block out light from our garden - which doesn't get a huge amount as it is. we live in a terraced row - the extension will be only about ten feet from us.

we've been mulling it over without coming to any real conclusion about how we feel about it. we certainly don't want to get into a nasty dispute with them and perfectly understand their desire for more space.

however, i was rather concerned this morning, as it appears workmen have arrived to start work. we have not been advised by the council that they have sought planning permission. i'm concerned about this - for the reasons mentioned above, combined with a selfish concern that it could detract from the value of our house.

what should we do?

thanks in advance for any advice

BK we are contemplating an extension at the moment so I know a little bit about this.

If they have not previously extended (eg loft conversion) they may not need pp as they can extend under what is called permitted development. This means that you can add a certain percentage of floorspace to your house without needing pp.

I think this doesn't apply if you are in a conservation area, so check that first.

I'm not sure about the light issue. If they don't need pp then maybe you can't do anything. If they do then you could object based on that. Could you not ask them to do the side wall above the fence hight in glass maybe so that it didn't block your light? Sure there are surveyors etc on mumsnet who will know much more than this but HTH.

thanks for the quick response, cd. tbh, i think if what they are proposing falls within planning regs, we probably can't do anything about it anyway... but conversely want to ensure they have obtained the necessary permission, so they don't build any eyesore right up close and personal, as it were.

i've looked up planning regs for our borough and on the face of it it seems they would need to get pp for this...

If you ring the building control department of your local council they will come out and inspect to make sure that your neighbours are not contravening any regulations. The planning officers are not permitted to disclose the identity of anyone complaining.

Yes CD is right- you can extend by a certain % of floor space without needing planning permission.

If you put your postcode into Google, you will be able to get a list of people that have requested PP. We had our house extented and you do not need PP for an extention of up to a certain size. We needed PP but it was ok as we are council and the council were doing it.

Yes, it's true that some extensions don't need PP, but I think there are some other regs. that cover any building work done up to a boundary between properties, irrespective of whether or not the work requires PP. I don't know details but it covers something to do with whether the people the other side of the boundary are affected (and I think blocking out light from the garden would be considered).

BK, if they build to within a certain distance from your foundations (I think it's 1 metre) they have to get a 'party wall agreement' signed by you BEFORE they start work. Consult building regs people about this.

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Even if they don't need PP they definately have to consult/inform the PRegs dept at the local council. If it doesn't conform, they'll have to rip it down anyway. When they come to sell their house, (if they ever do), it will all come up in searches anyway and not only will it affect the value of their houise, they'll STILL have to take it down!!!

thankyou so much everyone.

based on the advice here, i spent quite a bit of time googling yesterday and as a result am now much better informed on things like pp and permitted development rights. also was sure neighbours had not yet applied for pp.

having armed myself with the knowledge, went round for a chat with the neighbours last night, which went very well, i.e. conducted on friendly terms and reassuring to me!

turns out the workmen were from their surveyors, doing some preliminary work prior to drawing up plans. they will need pp, and will put in their application when the plans are done. they will show us the plans prior to submitting the application.

phew, panic over, i think! at least it forced the issue to an extent to make sure we were better informed as to the ins and outs of it all.

thank you very much everyone, these comments were very useful

Good news BK - sounds like you handled it all very diplomatically!