Neighbouring property - planning app to turn large-ish detached house into five flats

[gleegeekgleek]

A property adjoining mine is the subject of a planning application to turn it (a five bed large ish detached house) into five flats. It seems excessive to me to turn one property into five even though I appreciate there is a shortage of smaller dwellings etc.

The property looks into our garden and house and so we will have five neighbours potentially overlooking us rather than one and associated noise from five lots of neighbours.

I'm trying (and possibly failing) not to be nimbyish about it but does it sound unreasonable to turn one house into five flats?

It's not really in keeping with the area - it's all houses here not flats.

Any advice? We will be considering whether to object to the planning application and how to do so/ what to say in the next few days.

Seem to remember something about objecting to extra traffic, extra cars, extra noise when lodging an objection

(sympathies)

I'd be worried about additional cars - where would they park? What if they are bought by 2 car couples?

It does sound like a very tight squeeze to get 5 flats out of a 5 bedroom house.

Parking is likely to be an issue so mention that if you object. As piprabbit says, if the flats are rented to couples, they may well have a car each.

Even if planning is agreed for conversion, it might limit the number of flats to something more reasonable.

You can object firstly on basis of parking. Unless they have allocated spaces on site you could argue potential safety and access issues(ie. for emergency vehicles). We objected to a development at the end of our close on this basis and although it eventually went ahead the developer had to review the amount of provision and replan the number and size of houses. Second argument would be it not being in keeping with the area. The other, more personal, issues would carry less weight I'm afraid

Go
check planning bit on your local authority website as we had horrendous new development behind us- parking, access, noise, consistency with area and being overlooked all valid.

There isn't a shortage of flats and nobody wants them anyway, there's a shortage of houses.
Please object, I am sick of looking at beautiful 5 bed houses which would be perfect for us that have been turned into three flats with on street ie no parking

I thought the country was awash with small one bedroom flats and sorely lacking in houses for families?

Do you live somewhere that has escaped the mania for one beds fuelled by greedy developers looking to squeeze as much money as possible out of very site by packing people in like sardines?

You will be able to check the application on line via your local council's website.

From there you will be able to object.

If you feel strongly about it, do object.

There will certainly be a process and you can then be a part of it. ie planning committees to discuss it further / see the full plans etc.

Oh dear gggleek you have my sympathy. We eventually moved away from a house where we spent a few years (on and off) objecting to an overdevelopment across the road from us.

We would have had quite a few 'new neighbours' overlooking our house and garden. In fact the loss of privacy in the house and garden were one of our objections. As we were the principal property to be affected I think our objections carried some weight and we were able to negotiate down the proposed number of units. It sounds like your situation is also an 'over development'. Road saftey and increased traffic are also grounds for objection.

Anyway, I suggest you search your Councils web site, contact your residents association and get in touch with your local councillors. All will be a mine of information (or should be). We found out a lot online, such as the possible grounds for objection and had a lot of support from the residents association and our councillors (who were worth their weight in gold and threw themselves into the objections).

Also speak to all the neighbours to make them aware (our council will only inform the immediately adjacent property and in fact lots more neighbours objected when we put the word about.

Hope this helps and don't worry, the planning professionals at the Council will have to address your concerns. You do not need to be a planning expert to object. Write up all your grounds for objection and the Council will have to take seriously what they cannot disregard.

Where are you? If you are right that it's not really in keeping, the Council may be more against it than you think. You should call the council and speak to the planning case officer; they may be helpful. But developers do have contacts and ways of twisting arms so you need to rally your neighbours and get them onside.

Two gardens behind ours (ie not immediately behind) a house was demolished and they proposed to build four five bed terrace 3 storey townhouses on it, overlooking our garden (and the poor people behind were virtually being bricked into their house). On the basis of objections like these it was reduced to two 2 storey detached houses with no overlooking. (It went to a full appeal). But it shows if you get enough support - eg neighbours other side, behind, opposite etc - it can really work.

We (with neighbours) successfully stopped a single detached house becoming 12 flats a few years back. It is now a pair of semi's with a detached house behind, all with tiny gardens. (But developer tried for qw flats, then 8, then 4 houses etc etc - don't give up! They may be trying for a lot so when you object and they put in a smaller app you think oh well, that's not sooo bad.)

Our main fctors were traffic & parking. Assume 2 cars per flat, where will they go. What is the access like?

We border a conservation area which helps, but another thing was the building was so "out of keeping" and would change the look of the road (all individual detached houses with leafy green fronts).

We looked on the council website, found everything they don't like for planning and played to those.

You cannot claim for loss of view, but you can for light - so if it will be tall and casting shadows may have some leverage?

Also, if they are all overlooking you directly (where you sunbathe?) can try for loss of privacy. An old peoples home had to be re-planned when old ladies in top flats would sit & look in my friends back garden. She argued no privacy and won.

Good luck

Definitely going to object - no question about it.

I've been in touch with the Residents' Association who have been supportive although the legwork will be down to us/ neighbours.

I think other local developments have been turned down as they are not in keeping with the area (largish houses, a very small number of flats but they tend to be at the end of the roads, leafy suburbia) and due to parking.

I think Milliways you are right - they are going with five but really want say three. I can't even see how they'd fit five decent sized apartments in the house, albeit it is a large property. I can't see how they'd get flats of more than 800 or 900 sq ft. OK that's quite a decent size but this area is not about lots of flats.

With parking and access, the property is on a road used for commuter parking already so there is an issue with parking. The parked cars narrow the road to one lane and it's a bit of a rat run so I think adding to that will be bad.

Do object - In my experience the developers start with the most 'aggressive' plans to see what they can get away with.

Once its done, there is no turning back so its really important to have your say as you'll have to live with it when its done.

Where we are, parking seems to be less of an issue as the council are encouraging less cars (despite how unlikely it is that residents would use bikes), so check on the council website to see what their policies are - generally privacy, access issues, density of the development, how sympathetic the development is to the local surroundings are important.

Can you get other neighbours to write in as well?

My friend was in similar situation but it turned out worst than 'parking issues'.

The house next door was converted into studio flats and rooms to let. Apparently the new owner had relatives working in the Council. He rent the whole house to the Council who then used it to house homeless people-not families, mainly single drug users.
Apparently this is very good deal fot the developers as they receive gurantee rent with 5 years contracts.(although depends on the property and location, if is very good then better to rent it privately).

Sorry for my pesimistic post. I agree with others that you must be very pro active.

Things my local council are hot on are parking and refuse.

If the grounds of the house/future flats doesn't have enough parking for 10 cars and so residents would have to park on the street that might carry some weight (if on street parking was a problem locally) .

If there would be an issue about locating 10 wheelie bins (assuming one waste bin and one recycling bin per household) in the grounds that might carry some weight.

A similar proposal was rejected here on those grounds. Here they assume 2 cars per household but it is a rural area with negligible public transport; might be different elsewhere.

Ooh yes good point about the bins. In our area each property has one wheelie bin plus two recycling bins so unless they have commercial size ones that's a lot of bins.

We have also repeatedly had rats in the area - worth mentioning that the extra refuse could exacerbate that or will I seem like I'm clutching at straws?

I'm pretty confident it will get turned down but we need to work hard all the same.

I would mention everything you think relevant - they will filter out things that don't meet their 'criteria'. The council would need to consider environmental health so mention the rats if you think its relevant.