New house build 2 doors away - Big concerns - Any one who can help please?

[Hocoloco]

Hello,
I'm looking for some advice from anyone 'in the know', to please help with the concerns I have. I live in a row of 4 houses. The house at one of the ends, is owned by a man who inherited it some years ago. For the last 4-5 yrs he has been renting it out, however at the back end of last year it became apparent that whilst he wishes to keep renting out the house, he wishes to demolish a double garage on the plot and have a second house built there! End houses are known for having a bigger gardens and a little extra land - and that is the case here. However, another house would be really pushing it and leave no room to turn cars around etc. The owner sold the land to an independent person and he in turn will be selling it on to someone else who wants to 'self build'. Personally, I would prefer no new house there in the first place. I'm anticipating the noise pollution, dirt, the look of it and generally the worry about whether heavy lorries going back and forth on a small path, will cause damage to the path itself or more importantly to the foundations of the existing houses. Plus all the safety concerns to people, animals and the wildlife. The rhetoric being put out is that this helps the local council fulfil their house building criteria ; but this is about money. As yet, I have received no official communication from the council (only from the man who purchased from the owner and plans to sell it on to the person who wants to build on it.) However, i was informed of a notice stuck on a lamp post mentioning the proposed self build. This is the first I had heard of it being a self build and it concerns me greatly. Will this be allowed to happen? If someone sells land for a self build are there rules in place that govern time frames etc? I cannot bear the thought of a self build going on for possibly years if it's a part time project. How can I reasonably object with a good chance of it being refused. All information gratefully received. Thanks.

I expect it will be allowed to happen sadly. Pretty much the same thing happened to my MIL and no amount of approaching the council did any good. They LOVE an infill.

This sounds like NIMBYism.

Quite common for there to be a sub sale where the 'middleman' has fronted up the money to get the planning.

Yes it's about money but presumably you get paid for going to work and this is no different.

Personally I think its great that unused brownfield land gets used for housing.

Are you saying that delivery trucks have been routinely turning on private land?

Sorry, other people have already addressed this. That’s not going to be a concern for planning. If the owner of the private land just fenced it off without building on it, you’d be looking at the same issue. It has nothing to do with the new house, and I doubt Highways is going to be bothered by the traffic associated with one extra house.

You don’t get an individual letter. All that needs to happen is the planning notice being displayed for the requisite period. Go on your local planning portal to object, if you have solid grounds, before the deadline. It doesn’t sound as if you do, to be honest. It’s a single house being added to a row, so isn’t going to overstress local amenities, it’s not expanding into habitat etc, and it’s not adjacent to yours, so it doesn’t sound as if it’s going to impact your light or privacy etc.

I do understand that you feel unhappy about it - it probably will have a detrimental impact on you if there is building going on on your road, and you obviously feel that an extra house will make your street feel crowded.

There's land opposite my house which, if it was built on, would impact my enjoyment of my property - it would change the feel of the area significantly. I don't live anywhere fancy but my street is really quiet and despite being very urban, we see a lot of wildlife. I don't think the land is likely to be built on, but I would really hate it if it was.

i think it feels really unfair that people are able to do things which have such a significant impact on our enjoyment of our homes, and we have very little say over it - and it's not as if you can easily move. When you buy a house you're factoring in the surroundings as well as the property. So if you buy a house with an amazing view and someone then builds on it, you feel like you've had something taken from you which you paid for.

However, the reality is that, as long as they can get planning permission, people are allowed to do what they like. I think if you can accept that this is not something you have a say over, you may find things easier.

I think you are getting far too upset over this and it will make you ill. I do understand your concerns but far worst things could be happening. Just do your best to object on the grounds already mentioned and then see what happens. It could be refused and if not then find a way to live with it.

Look for the planning application online and object.

All they have to do these days is post a notice on a lamppost ( or similar). They no longer have to write to immediate neighbours about a planning application

Thanks for the messages. I did not know how little rights, we as neighbours, had in these matters or that we no longer received letters and that notices were just posted publicly. CoffeCup14 - thanks for your thoughtful reply. I guess there is no point in worrying over what will surely come to pass. It's difficult though - no-one wants building outside their front door or the uncertainty of it all - but I guess it's something we will have to live with. I know there are worse things happening elsewhere. I probably won't come back to this thread so thanks for your responses which have been food for thought.