What do we need to know/do regarding neighbour's loft conversion?

[casaberry]

We bought our first house only recently and have recieved a letter from the council that our neighbour has submitted planning permission for a loft conversion. We've also received lots of letters from party wall companies offering their services re the proposed building work.

We share a wall in a Victorian terrace.

As we've never dealt with this before, does anyone have any advice?

We haven't met the neighbours yet (they don't seem to be home much) and we haven't received any notice directly from them or their representative.

Am I right that the notice from the council is different from what the owners are supposed to send us?

Is there anything we should look out for in the planning application as a potential concern?

We're assuming it will be a straightforward conversion but would like to know how we can spot something out of the ordinary / potentially problematic.

How do we pick a good party wall company/surveyor? We've been contacted by about 8 different ones so far but I'm guessing it's better to get personal recommendations?

Thank you.

Don't pick a PWS that randomly contacts you (they scour the planning portals daily and do mass mail shots). Ask around for a recommendation.

We shared a surveyor for the party wall agreement so our neighbours organised it. We didn't have any issues other than noise and dust which is inevitable with building work. They sent the party wall notice after planning was granted and they had a builder lined up. They also paid for a window cleaner at the end which was brilliant because we hadn't anticipated just how filthy the windows would get.

Our road has two exits and plenty of parking so that bit was ok but if you're down a cul de sac you should ask for notice of big deliveries otherwise you could be blocked in. There were a few mornings when our neighbours had a big lorry outside delivering materials.