Advice on objecting to planning permission

[SkinnyMirror]

There is a small bit of land next to our house which currently has derelict garages on it and has been used as a dumping ground by the owners- they're farmers and own lots of land locally but refer to this bit as 'the tip' which is nice 🙄

We've just discovered that they've submitted a planning application to build a 3 story house on the land. This house will be around 50 metres from our property and will block the only two windows we have on that side of the house - these windows are landing windows so they're claiming there will be no loss of amenities but they actually let in a significant amount of light and if these are blocked our house will be in perpetual darkness!

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to approach the objection?

I'm pretty sure we can object due to the fact we live in a conservation area and the house plans aren't in keeping with the area and it's also green belt.

Can we object to the loss of light and privacy even though the windows aren't room windows?

It would mean we lose our amazing view but as i understand, that isn't grounds for objection.

They've lied on the planning application about the current use of the land the land surrounding it - they've claimed that us and our neighbours use it for parking and their plans will improve this and make it safer . However, they've never let us park there. We have access rights and have occasionally had trades people park there so they can access the houses and they always tell them to move! Is this worth mentioning?

They're not very nice people so we need to be careful about how we approach this! Any advice would be greatly received!

@Seeline

Green Belt policy is usually fairly strictly upheld. You can replace a building in the Green Belt, but only if the new building is in the same use and isn't materially larger than that which it replaces. It sounds as though the new dwelling will be significantly bigger in terms of footprint, height and bulk. You can also redevelop previously developed land but it should not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing development. Look at the National Planning Policy Guidance, chapter 12. There should be policies in the Council's Local Plan too.

Thank you so much. I think this will see it rejected. The site currently has two small garages but the proposed house is 3.5x bigger. They're using a previous case as a precedent but their initial plans were rejected for this reason as the lack of outdoor amenities ( which also applies here as there is no garden planned and no room for one!) They eventually were successful but they only got permission for a single story dwelling on the existing footprint of the garages - and there were 6 of them not two!

@DeRigueurMortis

OP Seeline posts on a lot of planning threads, really knows her subject and gives really good advice.

It's definitely worth taking on board her posts.

Thank you.

I also work in planning and agree with seeline, but so do you OP so that's a good
I was just coming back to say, aswell as the local development plan text there are usually plans. Often interactive maps. Look on those for all the constraints and you may get more things to support your objection.

And my non professional opinion / hunch is that this will be refused and then they can give up the dream and sell the land cheap (to you). (Lighthearted)

@Notavegan

I also work in planning and agree with seeline, but so do you OP so that's a good I was just coming back to say, aswell as the local development plan text there are usually plans. Often interactive maps. Look on those for all the constraints and you may get more things to support your objection.

Thank you very much. We'll look at these.

@Notavegan

And my non professional opinion / hunch is that this will be refused and then they can give up the dream and sell the land cheap (to you). (Lighthearted)

That would be the ultimate outcome!!

I am not sure about the planning permission process at all. I live in a rural area, it is green belt. There is a small delapidated former mill and land close by. The owner has obtained planning permission to renovate the mill and create a dwelling. The plans are on the local authority planning portal. The owner has built a temporary dwelling within the grounds of the mill on his land. His temporary residence looks fab. Complete with chimney for log burner. Large expanse of sliding aluminium doors to front elevation. He has created a beautiful garden and area for parking his cars by his temporary residence. No planning permission for this "temporary" residence.
No sign of any work done on the former mill.
It's a joke

@TheGallopingGourmet

I am not sure about the planning permission process at all. I live in a rural area, it is green belt. There is a small delapidated former mill and land close by. The owner has obtained planning permission to renovate the mill and create a dwelling. The plans are on the local authority planning portal. The owner has built a temporary dwelling within the grounds of the mill on his land. His temporary residence looks fab. Complete with chimney for log burner. Large expanse of sliding aluminium doors to front elevation. He has created a beautiful garden and area for parking his cars by his temporary residence. No planning permission for this "temporary" residence. No sign of any work done on the former mill. It's a joke

How annoying! Don't planning approvals come with a time frame? I'm sure around here the work has to be completed within 3 years.

I know the people who have submitted the planning application next to ours fell foul of this previously. They got approval to build a house elsewhere in the village and didn't complete it in time so it was pulled down. It was a few years ago though so I don't know if the rules have changed.

They have no intention of building this house though. The plan is to get approval and sell the land with planning permission.

If building work not started within three years of pp being granted
Then considered expired

Just another thought.

Planning permission was recently refused for a property in our village because (as in your case) the house covered the entire footprint.

The council planners recommended refusal as there was no outside storage space for bins/recycling and a cycle store.

The plans then had to be amended to a smaller property to enable this to be incorporated (on the basis of which it passed, but it sounds like there might not be scope to do so in your case).

@DeRigueurMortis

Just another thought.

Planning permission was recently refused for a property in our village because (as in your case) the house covered the entire footprint.

The council planners recommended refusal as there was no outside storage space for bins/recycling and a cycle store.

The plans then had to be amended to a smaller property to enable this to be incorporated (on the basis of which it passed, but it sounds like there might not be scope to do so in your case).

They have included a parking space and non storage but there is no garden. I know of similar applications where this was cited as an issue but they have room for flexibility. There is no flexibility in this case.

We got together with the neighbours this afternoon and we'll all be objecting as will others on the street as this plan would reduce parking spaces which are already scarce!

*bin storage

A new development today which has pissed us off a little bit!

The application is still 'live' and the deadline for comments is next week.
Our local, free newspaper was delivered today and in it was an article about the application!! I've never known them write about applications that involve just one property - they occasionally write about big developments but this seems odd. The article is really biased and talks about it as though it's a done deal and includes incorrect information about the impact on the conservation area, the green belt and highway/parking situation.

It's very frustrating to read.

I know there will be a significant number of objections - there are a few up on the website already so hopefully it's not going to be a problem.