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

Being too long won’t count against you but some poor overworked bugger has got to read it and summarise it in a report. They’ll cut it down to the sentences I wrote above so they’ll appreciate not having to read through things they either already know (all the policies) or don’t need to know (your neighbour is a dick).

I’ll read it if you PM it to me. —hopefully it isn’t addressed to me—

Is the ground floor extension new too, or did they bung a balcony on top of an old /previous flat roof extension?

Haha, he is s complete dick!

Gosh are you sure you wouldn’t mind reading it? (By the way I wasn’t hinting, I was going to ask someone at work to read it). I feel like that would be way too much of an imposition on you?

Hi no the ground floor extension has been in years, way before they bought the house

Son is an architect, he would want planning to make a site visit also get your ward councillors to come and look. The number of people around here who have tried to get first floor balconies, we live in a scenic area and have been kicked back, which may be why they did it on the qt in the first place.

Also an LPA planner, MagdaS advice is spot on. Especially about a short objection comment, we like brief and to the point! Include the photos you've posted here, they demonstrate the harm sufficiently.

Thanks

I have put in my objection letter that I would like the planning officer to come and visit my home

Thanks Widdle. Yes will definitely include photos

Agree don't waffle or get overly detailed in your letter.
Use clear bullets points, and you don't need to quote policies, just say "contrary to policy 7a"
Several of my neighbours and I objected to overdevelopment plans for house in our street and while we were all roughly voicing the same objections (read online) some put their point across much more succinctly than others.
Long objection letters have a tendency to get overly emotional

Yes - could bullet point

• results in loss of privacy to the patio, rear garden and bedroom windows. A screen would provide only limited mitigation in view of the elevated position of the balcony
• noise and disturbance associated with its use, and there isn’t a planning condition that could reasonably control this.

At my council we used to have a definite assessment of the size of a terrace when working out how likely it would be to be used and perhaps be a nuisance. Called the big ones “party balconies” because more potential for a group of folk than the little ones where you’re lucky to get a small chair in them.

The fact that the other balcony presumably provides the only private amenity space for the flat, it’s size and siting seems to me not to set any precedent. Each case should be considered on its own merits anyway, and 12 years is a fair old time in planning.

Thanks Breakfast, appreciate the tips

I have tried to make the letter very professional with no emotion

No I don’t mind reading it at all. I’ve read thousands in my time, another one won’t hurt. Send it my way.

@Wildidle they sure do demonstrate the harm!

Thank you Magda, that is extremely generous of you

The letter is on my computer at work so I will PM it to you first thing tomorrow

Thanks again

Don’t push the point about visiting, home visits to objectors take ages and we want to be in and out on site visits. There is no need for an officer to visit your property to understand why that’s harmful.

Ah ok, thanks for that

OK, I’ll read it tomorrow evening as I’m working all day - making sure nothing like this gets built in our borough

Contact your parish council, and if possible attend their next meeting. They will have the opportunity to comment on the planning application and will be able to write a letter backing you up. Get other neighbours to object to the application too. The more objections, the better.

The problem here is that although the neighbours will likely be denied permission and told to remove the balcony, the council probably lacks the finances to pursue them legally if they refuse to comply. One of my neighbours up the road was denied retrospective permission and the council has been telling him for four years now that he has to restore his property to its original state.

Thanks Milky. Have just been online and got the contact details for the parish council

Thanks

Haha Magda!

Perhaps you could use my photos as training documentation within your department!

Magda

How do I add an attachment to the PM to you?

The letter is too long and structured to copy and paste it into the message box

I agree re a previous comment re the long haul.

From the date of our complaint to planning enforcement to when the balcony came down it was 10 months. I think luckily for us though our neighbour decided not to appeal.

Some of the delay was due to the neighbour, as I said previously he left everything to the last minute e.g. dismantled the balcony on the last possible date. However, planning also delayed things by pushing back dates such as the determination date.

Whilst that was frustrating we knew they were under resourced. In my first post I mentioned planning enforcement team well that was a one person band for a borough with a population of 55,000.

I will admit we did keep phoning to find out what was happening if we hadn’t heard anything for a couple of weeks so they didn’t forget about us. We were always polite and as my husband works for a local authority (environmental health side) could relate to the pressure they were facing.

The Planning Officer was always helpful and more than happy to come and visit us, and spend time looking at the balcony from our garden and taking photos.

Thanks 2doglady

the enforcement officer I have been dealing with has been very friendly/helpful so far so fibgers crossed

I will defo keep on top of them

You've had very good advice so far.

I would definitely try and get your local Councillor to visit your home so that they can help fight your corner.
Definitely attach photos to your objection - a picture paints a thousand words
I also agree unfortunately that this could be a very long, drawn-out process. It's just how the system works.

Thanks Seeline

When the planning application goes in I am going to email the chair of the parish council with my objection letter and ask him to visit my home

Yes am preparing my self for the long haul. Even if permission gets refused I am well aware it will probably take months and months for it to be removed. I won't let it drop though

If NDN ever wants to move (here's hoping!) he's going to have trouble with no planning permission and an Enforcement Notice