Balcony and planning permission *images removed by MNHQ at OP's request*

[Morley19]

Does anyone have any experience of balconies and planning permission? Epxperience of a situation similar to mine?

My neighbours have put this up without planning permission. I have reported it and they have to put a retrospective planning application in.

The photo looking outside is the view from my bedroom window. gives them a direct view into my bedroom and even onto my landing. The external photo shows the vastness of it and the ridiculous amount of overlooking.

To me, there is no way they should get planning permission for this. but I hear of such weird decisions by councils. I have already drafted my objection (the planning application is meant to be in by end of this week) but I am very worried that they may get approval.

Thanks

Thanks for your comments everyone

Just need to wait for the application to go in, hopefully this week

The enforcement officer put a 28 day time limit on it. However, when I spoke to him today he didn’t seem like ok concerned about pushing them (they have emailed him 2 weeks ago to say they would be submitting one)

Surely there must be set time limits to get a retrospective application in, that if they don't conply with they just have to take the balcony down? Otherwise they could just delay putting one in for months??

wouldn't he have needed to do party wall as well??

Not sure about that? It isn’t actually adjoined to my property??

My message about the enforcement officer should have read ‘he didn’t seem too concerned about pushing them...’

Wouldn’t get permission from my local planning department. Would be an absolute no.

Make sure to mention the potential use of the terrace associated with its size - could be quite intensive because of its size and if you had, say, a few folk using it, it’s not just the loss of privacy, but also noise and disturbance. While your neighbours might be reasonable (albeit dim, if they thought this was ok), permission goes with the land and not the person, so who knows whether a future occupant would be antisocial.

Thanks Janleverton

That is really useful. Do you work in a planning department?

My neighbours aren’t reasonable at all. Quite the opposite. Very selfish (and loud!)

Thanks again

Enforcement action itself (to get it removed) takes time. And the moment they serve a notice, the neighbour could put in an application, which then needs to be determined. Be warned that this could take time. Say they apply, and it’s refused, they can then appeal against the refusal of permission to the planning inspectorate.

If the appeal is dismissed (if they bother appealing), then they have to remove the balcony but it may be that they wait for an enforcement notice to be served, which must give them instructions on what to do to rectify the situation, I.e. if they have installed a door instead of a window, to replace the window and remove the balustrade. Or alternatively, to install a physical barrier that would stop them accessing the flat roof. The action that has to be taken has to be proportionate and the time given for compliance must be reasonable, or they can appeal against the enforcement notice I believe.

Thank you again. Very useful info

X post. Once upon a time and not in enforcment/investigation! But I know that it can take blinking ages to get action to put things right, particularly if the system is played.

Sorry to hear that they’re not nice but dim. It’s shocking that you’d think it fine to bung a roof terrace in such an unneighbourly position.

With regards to objection, concentrate on impact on habitable rooms (i.e. bedrooms, not the landing) and also on the overlooking of your own patio and rear garden. Also, I’d make the point that the balcony cannot be made ok by conditions (ie screening to the side) because there’s still the issue of its use resulting in potential noise and disturbance and a condition restricting its use wouldn’t really be enforceable.

Thank you so much. That is all really useful and I will make sure I incorporate all those points.

Out of interest, can’t see clearly and might be a reflection, but does the building on the other side of them have a rear balcony?

Hi someone asked this earlier

The building next to my neighbours is a shop with two story residential above it. That is a fire escape which they did manage to get planning permission to use as a balcony too, about 12 years ago.

It is the only one in the area and I believe is very different scenario to mine. It is a detached house, several metres away from any others, set further back from the property line and nowhere near anyone else’s bedroom window.

I suspect this may have given my neighbours confidence but I feel it is a very different set up

It does still add to my concerns though

I’m a planner at a Council and there is no way on earth we would grant permission for that.

Bear in mind though that enforcement is often under resourced and slow so action will be taken but you will need to be patient.

Thank you Magda

If the neighbours don’t get their retrospective planning application in within the 28 days the enforcement officer set, who then makes the matter progress?

The enforcement officer said he doesn’t have the power to make them get the application in

Thanks Magda. Yes I think I am in for the long haul

They will probably be told to put a 'modesty screen' between your property and theirs but it'll only be about 1m wide.
I hope they're told to remove the railings.

He can’t force them to submit an application (no one can) but if they don’t an Enforcement Notice will be served which will set out steps to remedy the breach and a timescale for compliance. They can appeal against this on a number of grounds and then it would be considered by a Planning Inspector. No action would be taken whilst the appeal is running.

just out of curiosity, wondering if they properly assessed how much weight that roof could take

when I was buying a flat, I viewed one in an area I thought I couldn't afford....well, I couldn't! This particular flat had built a balcony very similar to this, which turned out to be unplanned, officially unsafe - it was all sealed off and marked as being a danger when I went to view - and the guy had massively reduced the price for someone to take his mistake off his hands (or was selling in a hurry or summat).

so yes, also wondering if their lack of planning permission might mean they didn't do any proper safety checks.

best of luck OP, it's madness!

Ok thanks. The enforcement officer didn’t seem too concerned about them not meeting the 28 day deadline so I was just wondering how long he would leave it until he served an enforcement notice
Thanks

Thanks Llangennith

I really hope that they have to do a lot more than a privacy screen but I am worried

Good point Grace, thank you

It certainly is madness

The way I look at it is like this.....even putting aside all the planning laws and what you can and can’t do legally, what DECENT human being would do that to someone?!

They’ll probably get another letter after 28 days giving them one more chance to submit and then if that has no effect it would move to an EN. Legal normally have to sign off / draft ENs so these can take a few weeks to produce.

BTW no need to go overboard on the objections - stating it causes overlooking to whatever it overlooks and that it’s harmful to residential amenity would be sufficient. Also make the point a screen between the houses would not prevent overlooking to your garden.

Thanks Magda. I really appreciate your input.

My objection letter at the moment is very long. Could that work against me?

I will try and get someone to read it before I submit it