Neighbours Objecting to planing application

[BlackGirlAndRobin]

We've made an application for a outbuilding with office space. And I'm finding it really hard not to take the objections personally.

Neighbour 1, is a lovely cunt. He has form for being one so this shouldn't surprise me really. He had extra work done and billed all the neighbours for it without any consultation. He's been grabby about our shed before said application has gone through. Expects us to pay for a new road surface to the communual acces strip which is heavily used by local farmer.

Neighbour 2, verbally agreed to our proposed plans, only to put up a full three page document on why they're objecting. Fair enough, I just don't understand why they couldnt be up front about it.

How likely is it for an application to be approved if 2 of 5 neighbours object?

We had objecting neighbours to our extension Who dragged things out thanks to the super councilors they got onside. As planners recommended approval we could do nothing until councilors went used every delaying tactic they could. We eventually got r permission & had no amendments to make.

If your plans meet planning regulation there is very little an objecting neighbour can do other than vent - and annoy you! They need to find planning grounds to refuse you.

Planning is the most subjective & divisive matter but just sit tight & play by the books.

Oof, they sound lovely. Planning applications really do bring out the cunt in some people - I'm assuming fo course that what you want to do is actually reasonable...

Have you seen the objections? What matters is not the number of them, but the weight, i.e. do they have any valid planning law-applicable reasons for opposing? THings like a spoiled view, loss of value to their property (which is what 95% of objections really boil down to IMO/E) are not valid. Neither will the council intervene in any civil issues about shared access/ right of way or who pays for maintenance or what anyone's title deeds say.

If you're not in a conservation area or AONB, I think they would really have to prove that your plans will cause some sort of nuisance to them or are really disproportionate development/ out of keeping with the rest of what's there. How big is the outbuilding for it not to be permitted development?

Are you in a block of flats, or some kind of converted building with a shared drive? Is the proposed building going to be on shared land, facing the current accommodation (will it seem like the office occupants can see into the residential accommodation?) or increase traffic? (I'm assuming it's a home office and probably won't have workers coming in from outside the residential accommodation).

Can you get some other neighbours to actually write letters of support? Some applications only get complaints but supporting statements are also allowed & can provide a counter balance.

When I had this with an application I got our local councillor down to show her the site & show her how I would answer & address the objections so she was able to speak with knowledge of the place at the planning meeting.

What are their grounds for objecting?
'I don't like it' isn't a valid reason, nor is loss of view.

Have you had a pre-application meeting with the planners? It is about £150 but invaluable if you get some constructive feedback.

Might be worth booking an appointment with them and withdrawing the application if they give you verbal feedback that indicates it might be rejected? Equally, they might say the neighbours giving (invalid) objections won't sway them, so you can crack on

It rather depends whether their objections are in accordance with planning law. Is the proposal larger/higher than would not require pp, in a conservation area or is it the use that requires it. If they just object on say cosmetic grounds it would be ignore.

Just out of interest, what legitimate objections can neighbours make about a planning application?

(we are about to submit a planning application and have a neighbour who likes to complain about anything and everything - not about us as we generally get on but she likes to "assert her authority" shall we say and does so by being vocal and complaining eg. hotel rooms, meals in a restaurant, noise her attached neighbours make, another neighbours choice of external paint colour, delivery men leaving parcels........it's like it's her mission in life!)

depends norbert - what is your application for ?

We had a few awful objections to our planning, including one neighbour who phoned the planning officer on numerous occasions.......
We got our planning permission though. I think the case officers have heard it all before and will make their own decision based on facts and facts alone. If any of them raise sensible reasons for objecting, you can ask your architect to write a letter explaining why those reasons will not have the impact that the neighbour thinks they will.

Having slept on it I'm less worried. At worst we'll end up moving much sooner than we anticipated.

We're based in a development with a shared private roadway/drive, within the curtilage of a listed building which is the main complication. I'm no expert

What we're proposing will be a studio/ office space and additional storage as we've outgrown our house. We don't plan to actually use the garage as a garage as it will mean driving round the back, walking through the garden and using the back door. But the main necessity is the extra storage/office space.

Some of the objections include;

• loss of natural light. Proposed building is about 100 meters diagonally from NDN2's front door. They're already two other asbestos buildings, one is probably 3 storeys high, about 5 meters from proposed site.

-Access not suitable for heavy use, said access way is already being used in a regular basis by farm vehicles.

-Over development of the site, it's only the size of a four bay garage, with two bays being used as a home office.

• The design is intrusive and will dominate the landscape. The drawings/designs are in keeping with the converted buildings in place.

• Loss of privacy. No windows will face NDN2. But they're concerned that we'll be looking into their property as we walk back to ours. Given that none of the properties have any hedging and have simple open farm type fencing this point is ridiculous.

Planing was originally rejected on the basis that the area is open farm land however historically there were buildings in this area before the redevelopment of the site. It was also intended that half the gardens were to be left as open meadow, the developer ended up laying it all to lawn. Concerns that this will flag it up with the planners who will then end up enforcing it.

Having discussed it with DH we will go ahead and appeal if necessary. But there's only so much were willing to throw at it as it's not really out forever home.

Norbert your neighbour sounds just like mine. Maybe they're long lost siblings.

I wouldn't worry. We sold some land next our house (more a chunk of our garden) to some friends who wanted to build a house on it. When the plans went in every single one of the ten or so neighbours who lived facing the plot objected. They got the local councillor involved, had meetings in each other's houses about it and turned up at the planning meeting coming up with all kinds of reasons for it not to go ahead.
It took a while but that wasn't really to do with them,more agreeing on the plans but they got planning. The main things the neighbours were complaining about was the removal of two trees and the loss of their view. But at the end of the day they don't own the view (of what was our garden) or the trees (which were planted in our garden).

Mmm does sound as tho the neighbours have done their homework and are trying to make valid objections - although I'm not sure they've succeeded .

But a 4 bay garage does sound large to me - guess it depends on the context .And although you don't plan to use it as a garage the planners do consider future occupiers .

Let us know how it goes .

Ginger in relation to the size of the house I would say 4 bays is reasonable. We could half the size to appease NDN2 but he's already categorically opposed to any proposed outbuilding to the rear of our property.

They both have done their homework, NDN1 has even had someone round to look at the proposed site.

They don't own the veiw.

I agree. DH is now even more keen to put semi mature hedging all the way round, giving us more privacy and blocking NDN2's supposed view out! But I think that would be a sure way to piss him off.

It sounds like they are objecting on relevant grounds but that doesn't make their complaints substantive. The planning officers will dismiss objections that are plainly pants.

When we've been on the other side of the fence, the planning officers were helpful, they came round and had a look and were quite forthcoming with their views on likelihood of succeeding. I don't know if it's appropriate for you to phone them up to get a feel for it or if you just wait for a decision now.

Having sat down with NDN1 it seems his objections are mainly that the roadway needs to be upgraded. But he's insinuating that that would be our responsibility of planning was approved. Not sure how he worked that one out.

He previously upgraded the spec for the drive without consulting all 4 of us. The first we all heard about it was after the work had been completed and the invoice of circa 5k arrived on the door step.

With regards to the objections NDN2 is the only one who this is going to impact. It's difficult to explain the layout of the properties without completely outing myself but we all share a private road with all houses facing a large courtyard style setting, NDN2 has his back door to the side of this with his front door being on the back of the building.

NDN3 have written a glowing note in our favour. NDN4 seem to have largely kept out of it especially as they've had work done without consent. NDN5 was for it without objections but her father stuck his oar in as he's the landowner who owned the site prior. to clarify the outbuilding will be on our land

Anyway we'll discuss with NDN2 next week and see if there's any way he'd be happy with an alternative.

That's great that you're talking to neighbours .I'm sure that's the way to sort it .