They want to build 60 houses on the fields next door

[stopthebuild]

Help!

I have to submit my objections shortly and we really want to get this plan scrapped.

There are fields directly behind the house (higher than us as were in a valley).

The plot has been earmarked for development as part of the councils 6 year plan.

Access isn't great, the water that already runs down is concerning in bad weather and has entered neighbours properties and there are plenty of brownfield sites around.

Does anybody work in this area or have knowledge of how to best object to this?

Thank you, I'd be grateful for any wisdom here.

On the planning application portal you can usually submit an objection there

But depending on your local housing shortage, and if it's in their plan you have little chance of over turning

People always troop out the old "use brownfield sites" comment but they are usually brownfield for a reason costing millions to make clean and would make the cost of the homes unaffordable?

Is it a viable settlement where you live? Do you have bus routes/shops/schools? Our village is no longer considered viable because we don't have any of these things.

We’ve got a proposal for 16 houses in a field on our main road which I want to object to as well... apart from anything else it’s on a flood plain

As the first poster said you submit on the planning portal but you need to think through your objections carefully, the ones in your op are not very strong

So traffic
Access
Local facilities
Flood management
Privacy concerns
Sewage etc

But you need to object on something real.

It’s unlikely though they are going to scrap it, especially if you’re struggling to come up with any real objection past not in my back yard.

Unfortunately, not liking the development or it impacting on surrounding house prices isn't an objection that'll be taken any notice of.
Privacy concerns don't usually hold much weight either.

Unfortunately, if the land has already received an allocation as part of the Local Plan it is unlikely that any objections will make any difference. It has already been decided that the site is suitable for development.

However, developers will be under obligation to manage ground and surface water issues and usually have a raft (no pun intended ) of measures to handle it.

Access and drainage issues are fairly easy to overcome depending on costs involved. It’s fine to use them as reasons to object but I would warn you to set your expectations low.
The time to object was when the six year plan (Local Plan) was drawn up as it’s difficult to object to an allocated site Although I appreciate you may not have lived there then.

Flood management is a big concern.

There has been a development further down the valley which has resulted in water gushing down and causing damage.

There is already an issue with flooding.

The access to this is currently just a small gate and cattle grid and they are not proposing buying land to either side to widen it.

It is part of a council wide scheme where they earmark many sites for potential development. Some of them will be scrapped so there's a small hope.

There are no primary schools nearby that aren't already oversubscribed. We have to drive to a shop.

Focus on the logistical, flood, and oversubscribed amenities in the area.

I work for a local authority complaints department. It can't be the same one as you talk of valleys and fields whereas I work in a busy town centre. But my experience is that planning appeals especially for housing are difficult to object to. An objection is generally only considered if to approve the application would be illegal. Almost zero consideration is given to neighbours opinions on the matter.

"Almost zero consideration is given to neighbours opinions on the matter."

Thanks! I had suspected that was the case but I'll have to just submit and see where it goes nowhere

If you can engage with the developers they may be able to mitigate any particular concerns you have. That's what has happened around us where the Local Plan has just allocated land for 1000 new homes.

You may find that the flooding issues are improved by measures put in place to manage the water.

If it's allocated for housing in the Local Plan, you have really missed the boat. You should have objected to the allocation at the time the Local Plan was being formulated. It would have been checked for things like flooding, access etc at the time.

You can check how many houses the Local Plan specifies for the site, and if the number proposed exceeds that, you could object to that.

Otherwise, you are really only looking at the details - is there any actual impact on your property - overlooking, loss of privacy etc

councils don't think about flooding or infrastructure - just £££ from developers. There are thousands of empty homes in the UK, the money would be far better spent on refurbishing those but the tax breaks and bungs don't favour it. These existing properties are mostly in towns, near transport links - that doesn't solve overloaded schools and healthcare but that's because we won't pay enough tax.

you can only try.

@OneRingToRuleThemAll

I work for a local authority complaints department. It can't be the same one as you talk of valleys and fields whereas I work in a busy town centre. But my experience is that planning appeals especially for housing are difficult to object to. An objection is generally only considered if to approve the application would be illegal. Almost zero consideration is given to neighbours opinions on the matter.

Complaints are not the same as planning objections.

Planning appeals are very different from planning applications.

The principle of providing housing on a site if the Local Plan has designated land for that purpose is hard to object to, but not impossible. Any other housing applications are open to all relevant planning objections.

The granting of planning permission is rarely 'illegal' - I'm not sure where that has come form!

Planning Authorities are legally required to consider all objections (and letters of support) where they address material planning considerations. A balanced judgment then has to be made. Just because planning permission is granted, doesn't mean objections have not been considered.

In planning law there is a presumption in favour of development. Councils must have a good reason to turn down a proposal which would stand up at an enquiry otherwise they have to pay the developers costs.
Objections are considered but as people have said it may be best to go for mitigation. The planning officers and committee can attach conditions to the permission. As part of the proposal the developer will need to pay section 106 money which should go toward the community. A recent development led to our local park being upgraded.

If it’s been marked for development in the local plan then you’re too late.

The planners have identified this as an area appropriate for development.

To get the scheme through planning they will have to improve the flooding situation.

They will also have to make monetary contributions to the council for school places and healthcare.

Didn’t you know this was always a risk when you bought a house with fields behind it?

How old is your home?

How big does the development have to be to pay section 106 money?

If it’s in the development plan there is basically nothing you can do, you should have commented on your local plan when it was proposed.

The water run off likely won’t be a concern because they’ll mitigate the effects of it. There is very very little you can do. If you really want to object you need to look up the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and write in your objection how the planning application will contravene it. Just writing an objection because it will ruin your view is pointless because it isn’t a consideration of the planners.

My DS lives next to farmland with planning in for 2,200 homes...

"If it's allocated for housing in the Local Plan, you have really missed the boat."

I'm sorry. It's a draft local plan

@skeggycaggy

How big does the development have to be to pay section 106 money?

It’s less about how big, more about the impact on the local area. It has to be significant and can’t be mitigated in other ways. Unless the op lives somewhere really tiny, sixty houses isn’t going to make a huge difference or have that kind of impact. And the money basically goes to the local authority/planners to help mitigate the impact a significantly impacting development will have.

It’s generally used for affordable housing, roads, parks that kind of thing.

@skeggycaggy

How big does the development have to be to pay section 106 money?

There are two ways of developers paying money.

S106 payments are usually for works specifically required to mitigate any impact the development may cause eg a new GP surgery, or highway improvement works off site. There is no limit on the size of the development involved, but usually they relate to larger developments, because such needs are not generated by smaller developments.

The way is via the Community Infrastructure Levey (CIL). This relates to all development bigger than 1 dwelling or 1000 sq m. BUT each local Council has to have adopted a CIL payment structure in order for these payments to be required. I think most have now, but some are still going through the process. This money is pooled by the Council and is used to pay for a published list of projects/improvements throughout the Council area. These are not related to the development itself.

@Stopthebuild

"If it's allocated for housing in the Local Plan, you have really missed the boat."

I'm sorry. It's a draft local plan

Ah that makes a difference.

So is there an actual planning application or is part part of the consultation process for the new local plan?