Neighbours and planning/building works

[MrsWobble3]

For the last two and a bit years our neighbours have been carrying out extensive building works but it is now coming to an end. Part of the works including replacing the fence between our gardens with a wall which according to the plans was to be rendered and painted brieze block construction. We have been asking about the timing of this as the builders will need access to our back garden but the only response we get is that they will ask their contractors. They have now rendered and painted their side but left ours untreated. This is very ugly and we want it finished. Is this a party wall matter or do we need to contact the council planning team? Our houses are listed if that makes a difference.

We’ve asked numerous times and are getting nowhere with the neighbours so want to get it enforced so we don’t have a third summer with our garden a mess.

I know there are some really knowledgeable planners etc on here - hopefully one of you can give us some pointers. Many thanks.

When we submit planning for walls - materials and finish are taken into consideration and I do know of a case where the property owner didn't install larch cladding as per planning - and he did get in trouble.

Also another project whereby they swapped Brazilian slate tiles for standard as they ran out of cash - they do were told to redo as per approved drawings.

But that's council dependent and then depends on local style / history

Might it be worth speaking with building control if there is a concern about the quality of the wall itself?

In our case BC didn't seem very concerned with aesthetics but wanted to make sure things had been done safely and correctly.

I'm no expert but the construction of that wall looks awful.

I think that you do have the option of erecting a fence on your side of the boundary though OP. I appreciate that this would involve additional expense but at least you would gain back control of the appearance on your side.

I live in an area full of grade 2 listed buildings and conservation. My house is conservation and our council are very very strict about what can and cannot be done. Get onto the councils conservation department today and get the ball rolling. The fact you are listed will hold some power here. I cannot believe they have left it like that and are happy to live next door to you - I could not look my neighbours in the eye if it were me!

You say your houses are listed, and this often includes structures in the garden. They would have applied for listed buildings consent for their work, and in my experience that department can be very picky. Might be worth contacting them too.

If they applied for Listed Building or Conservation Area consent, then talk to the Conservation Officer at your Council first. They will be able to explain what was agreed with you.

If it is deemed to be works which affect a Listed Building, if necessary they can then pass it on to Enforcement. There are a different set of powers when it comes to a Listed Building as opposed to a general planning application.

It looks really high. I thought rear garden fences were only supposed to be two metres tall. How tall was it shown in the plans and what is that wooden part on the top for?

2m high WITHOUT planning permission.
Higher fences/walls can be given PP depending on the impact they have on neighbours etc.

I agree - I think the fact that your properties are listed will be an important factor. Definitely contact Enforcement band make sure that they are aware of the listed status. I would also go direct to the conservation officer.

What a mess! Is this a retaining wall? I mean is their garden level higher than yours? I would be wondering about drainage from their garden down into yours, particularly what looks like your basement type bit (sorry don't know technical term)

Don't rule out assistance from the conservation team because if the listing.

And as pp have said, if you have concerns about the wall, contact building regs to ensure they see your side as they will probably need sign off.

*of not if!

That's a very ugly wall. The blockwork is very poorly finished (the mix of block types, the lack of pointing). The mismatched blocks could possibly be okay if it was going to be rendered, but it's still pretty piss poor. Did they ask for access to work on it from your side? I ask as it's the sort of finish I might possibly expect to see when a wall is built overhand without access to the other side, e.g. because it's going up close to another, pre-existing wall.

And what on Earth is going on at the bottom left corner in the photos? Is that concrete? And why do the blocks seem to overhang beyond it?

Can you explain what's going on the other side of the wall, please - is this wall just doing the job of a fence wall between the gardens, or is it part of a building the other side and/or retaining a higher ground level on their side?

Thanks for more replies. They didn’t ask for access - the wall was built up against an existing fence in poor repair which subsequently fell over into our garden so they removed it.

The wall retains a newly built elevated terrace on their side over a basement room. The hit and miss fencing on top of the wall was added as a planning requirement to stop overlooking from their terrace into our living room.

i think we’re going to have to call the council - building control and conservation officer. Should we also call our surveyor -are we in dispute under the party wall act or is that getting ahead of ourselves.

Your party wall agreement would normally stipulate what the finished wall will look like from your side. However it isn’t your wall. How it’s finished does matter. Was anything agreed regarding finish and making good? I would contact your surveyor for clarity.

As this is a retaining wall, has it got building regs approval? I would ask that too of the LA. I believe it needs it.

You clearly have difficult neighbours so I would check the wall is adequately constructed. A fence would help but it’s so annoying living next to people like this.

The construction of that wall looks iffy. Are there any buttresses further down?

Stroma may be useful if theyre in your area. X

It would not need buttresses if it’s properly designed by a structural engineer. The wall is the structure which retains the building and needs adequate foundations.

I would be fairly certain in this case that materials had to be agreed as part of pp too. Have you looked at all pp the details op? Definitely contact heritage officers. If building is listed how did this get approval?

More really helpful posts - thank you. We’ve been out and checked the wall again this afternoon. It has already cracked and the individual blocks move if pushed so we are going to contact building control because we are concerned that it’s not strong enough to be a retaining wall. We’re also going to speak to our surveyor.

The approval process is a whole other story - and it seems to have little impact since you seem to be able to get retrospective approval for deviation from plans without any difficulty.

The approval process is a whole other story - and it seems to have little impact since you seem to be able to get retrospective approval for deviation from plans without any difficulty.

This isn't the case. It's true that some alterations get approval, and probably would have done if the original application had been submitted in that form.
However, you have the Listed Building element in your case where unauthorised works can be a criminal offense. Alterations which haven't been approved will be taken seriously. As I said upthread, contact both the planning enforcement team and the Conservation Officer and make sure they both know that you have contacted the other.

@MrsWobble3
You need to know if this is a retaining wall below ground and that it has been designed properly. The photo is above ground but that’s only part of the wall. So you must find out if calculations were approved. So do contact everyone as at @Seeline has suggested.

an update for anyone interested. We sent a final chaser email to the neighbours on Saturday asking for a reply on Monday as to how this could be resolved. We included a list of potential issues including cracked blocks and the quality of construction. We got a reply on Tuesday telling us they objected to the tone of our message, that we were unreasonable to expect them to work to our timelines, that they were under no obligation to finish the wall to any particular timescale (although they did acknowledge they would finish it) and that we were not to speak to their builders (we haven’t - our Rumanian is not good enough).

Given that they had committed to finishing the wall we have not approached the council yet but our email has obviously caused concern since they emailed today to say the work would be done next week. They have not seen the rear side of the wall as we did not send them pictures but the contractor must know it’s shoddy as he is very keen to get it covered up. We’ve decided that as it’s not structural for us we don’t care about the construction and just want it finished.

thanks for all the knowledgeable advice on here - it was hugely helpful in drafting the email that got action.

If the blocks are moving, how can you be certain it has been built correctly and won't fall into your garden?

@PragmaticWench
Thats my view. Has this wall got building regs approval? That’s important. Have you checked that @MrsWobble3

Did they also get Listed Building Consent as well as Planning? Im sure the conservation Officer at the Council would have something to say about this.

The approval process is a whole other story - and it seems to have little impact since you seem to be able to get retrospective approval for deviation from plans without any difficulty.

This has been my experience when a neighbour changed their flat roof double garage (joined to their house and forming the boundary wall between our detached houses) to what turned out to be a vast highly sloping eyesore with gutters and a downpipe hanging over the boundary onto our side path. Their original approved plans were for something quite different which we didn’t object to. If we’d have known it would turn out like this, we certainly would have. You’d almost think some people use the planning system to deceive neighbours.

Your neighbours sound vile - good luck OP.

I know bugger all about construction but the fact that the bricks move when pushed argues that it is unsafe. If the builder is keen to have it finished, it could end up being cosmetically OK while still a danger.