extension next door

[phil ako]

good morning all,
i have been having issues with my neighbour about his extension he is going to be building.
1/ he has moved his fence over 150mm to accomodate said extension this means his extension will encroach on my land which i never agreed to, i have tried to talk but to no avail.
2 /the extension will block all light into my conservatory.
3/ bieng that close to my conservatory will it cause subsidence when he digs out for foundations
4/ it will also have a visual impact
the council dont seem interested in my concerns and wondered if you guys could help with advice and give me some advice
many thanks
phil

[islandgirl]

does it have permission yet? Contact your local councillor and get them involved.

[echat11]

Hi Phil Ako

Did your neighbour need to get planning permission for the extension?

If planning permission had to be sought, then the normal course of these things is that Council writes to you to find out if you have any objections to the extension.

Upto 6 metres planning permission isn't required, but you can still do things to block the extension being built.

Here's some info:

https://www.kslaw.co.uk/site/knsplan...il%20is%20fine.

https://www.structures-made-easy.co....-an-extension/

[phil ako]

Yes he has planning thank you for your replys

[islandgirl]

Did you object formally? What happened? If not why not? You can get planning on land you do not own but that does not mean to say you have a right to build on it.

[echat11]

If the Council are ignoring you, tell them you want a final response (people wrongly fear the Council, but they really shouldn't, they are just people like you and me). Then lodge a Complaint with the LGO.

https://www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-compla...cannot-look-at

[islandgirl]

But isn't it is too late if planning has been given..the OP can only concentrate on it not being built on his land

[echat11]

But isn't it is too late if planning has been given..the OP can only concentrate on it not being built on his land

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...ing-permission

[islandgirl]

mmm Ok I get that the act says that (thank you) but presumably if there had been any grounds not to allow it the official who gave it the green light would have refused. It was up to the OP to make a case against using planning reasons (not simply I don't want it!). The fact that permission has been given on the land the applicant does not own is not a reason to revoke it.

[des8]

You need to look at,( and understand !) The Party Wall Act 1996 to see what protections you have.
It covers not only shared or abutting structures, but also excavation and construction near existing properties

[echat11]

mmm Ok I get that the act says that (thank you) but presumably if there had been any grounds not to allow it the official who gave it the green light would have refused. It was up to the OP to make a case against using planning reasons (not simply I don't want it!). The fact that permission has been given on the land the applicant does not own is not a reason to revoke it.

We don't know what case the OP put forward against the planning permission.

Was it by phone? was it in writing? was it in person, lots of unknowns. Just because it's been granted doesn't mean it can't be revoked, but makes it more difficult.

[islandgirl]

You may be correct but in my experience it is extremely unlikely. Conditions can be amended but the OP has had his chance! He can look up the application online and see what was submitted and agreed.

[echat11]

A neighbour built an extension to a bungalow, planning permission wasn't required. The neighbour next door complained to the Council because their natural light was being 'interfered' with by the extension. The Council told the neighbour to remove the extension. They have been neighbours for 'decades'.

[islandgirl]

Absolutely. But planning permission was not required in that case. The OP said permission was granted so the process must have been followed. If it was done under permitted development then the case would be the same as you outline of course.

[phil ako]

Thank you for your responses.

To reply to some of the questions, the council sent a letter out on Wednesday 26th January, notifying me of a planning application. It currently sits on the council website as, 'Awaiting decision'.

1) As I mentioned before, the fence has been moved over onto our land, and said neighbour (from verbal conversation before Christmas) wishes to erect his extension close to this fence, which means he will have to chop out some of the rendering (only visible on my house, not his). It is clear that the rendering is in line with the centre of the house, which is square (measured width-wise front and back), so I imagine this is one means to object as he is clearly encroaching onto my property?

2) We have 4 small windows in the conservatory along the side where the extension is to be erected, which allow light, particularly in the morning, to our conservatory, but also to our kitchen, which is already restricted in terms of light, as the conservatory (built before we moved in) required the original kitchen window to be down-sized and therefore light is limited and I believe the extension will make this worse. Another means to object?

3) This conservatory sits alongside said fence, and his extension would then be sitting alongside the otherside of the fence. Is this allowed? Will this affect the foundations of the conservatory? Also, I am pretty certain that in our deeds, it states that if required, we are allowed access to our neighbour's land to perform maintenance work on said conservatory (this would not be possible if the proposed extension was built). Means to object?

4) I've heard of the Party Wall Act, but I'm not really sure what this entails. I will read up on this. The proposed extension will be built on (or close to, I can't really tell from the proposed plan as there is no specific measurements provided) the party wall, so I guess we have ground to also object in terms of this?

I just want to make it clear, we aren't against them extending, not at all, but we are very concerned about the light, the extension being built on our property, my conservatory in general and with it being so close, if it will affect the value of our own house.

Really appreciate the responses and help. Sorry for this being a long one!