Help preventing planning permission from being granted

[Sahara]

Hi all. I know very little information at the moment as the plans have not been published online yet, however I have just received a letter from our local council about a planning permission request that I am absolutely fuming about and need help in knowing on what grounds I can try to stop it going through. Part of the reason we moved here about a year and a half ago was because of the lovely setting, and if this planning permission is granted it will ruin the view from our house for starters.

It is hard to describe exactly, but the position we are in is in a little village, we are the one house in a row of four (two early 1800s properties, two modern) along a small track coming off a more main road. As you look across the track we look over the huge front garden of a bungalow. Past the bungalow is a row of modern housing. We can also see the countryside towards one side of the view we have.

The planning permission request is to demolish the bungalow and build three new detached homes on the land. Obviously I cannot tell exactly what the plans are as they are not published yet, but this, I am sure, will mean that instead of the lovely view and sunlight we get into the front of our house at the moment, all we will be able to see is at least one of these three houses. It is a devastating thought for me as I work from home and sit by the window to work, so it will completely ruin my working environment. it is such a lovely place at the moment.

I would appreciate any advice on grounds for appeal, or recommendations of where to go for advice and information as there is no way I am sitting and watching them do this without fighting it all the way. If anyone can help I would appreciate it. I will aim to post more details as and when they become available.

 

[Nemesis]

Gutting I know.

You have no entitlement to a view. You may have some etitlement to light but that in this case would be stretching things. Overshadowing though may be able to be claimed if it will really cut off your light.

Is this by any outside chance a conservation area? I don't suppose and listed buildings in the immediate vicinity?

You may be able to object on the grounds of increased access for traffic, danger for access, overdevelopment of the site, out of scale development, this being outside of any accepted local plan, any policies for sustainable development in place.

Have look on the council website - there may be policies there you can search among.

But I have to say, this 'garden grabbing' is becoming more and more prevalent and basically there's not a vast amount you can do.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Hi all. I know very little information at the moment as the plans have not been published online yet, however I have just received a letter from our local council about a planning permission request that I am absolutely fuming about and need help in knowing on what grounds I can try to stop it going through. Part of the reason we moved here about a year and a half ago was because of the lovely setting, and if this planning permission is granted it will ruin the view from our house for starters.

It is hard to describe exactly, but the position we are in is in a little village, we are the one house in a row of four (two early 1800s properties, two modern) along a small track coming off a more main road. As you look across the track we look over the huge front garden of a bungalow. Past the bungalow is a row of modern housing. We can also see the countryside towards one side of the view we have.

The planning permission request is to demolish the bungalow and build three new detached homes on the land. Obviously I cannot tell exactly what the plans are as they are not published yet, but this, I am sure, will mean that instead of the lovely view and sunlight we get into the front of our house at the moment, all we will be able to see is at least one of these three houses. It is a devastating thought for me as I work from home and sit by the window to work, so it will completely ruin my working environment. it is such a lovely place at the moment.

I would appreciate any advice on grounds for appeal, or recommendations of where to go for advice and information as there is no way I am sitting and watching them do this without fighting it all the way. If anyone can help I would appreciate it. I will aim to post more details as and when they become available.

Some tough love to start with. You do not, in law, have any right to a view. Therefore objecting on the grounds that you will lose your view will carry no weight.
If the development will affect your light, you need to show exactly what the effect will be, and that any overshadowing effect will not be acceptable. It will not be enough simply to show that there will be some overshadowing.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/plann...ingfactsheets/planningfactsheetovershadowing/
http://www.communities.gov.uk/plann...rmation/planningfactsheets/planningfactsheet/
You may well get further by objecting that the proposal will be detrimental to the character of the surroundings (but if most neighbouring properties are similar to what is being proposed the chances of that succeeding are slim)

 

[Stephen]

I am with the others here - you have no right to a view.

It is highly unlikely you could demonstrate loss of light sufficient for planning purposes and could be costly to get a Rights to Light consultant to advise.

You must look at planning arguments. Look closely at the local policies to see if there is some way this contravenes a policy (highways, density, height, etc, etc, etc).

The weakness of the 'local searches' when you buy is that it does not reveal anything other than formal applications. If someone has been in pre-application discussions this would not usually show up (because an application may never be made). Of course many applications arrive at the Council 'out of the blue' and would never show in a local search.

All you can do now is to put together sound planning arguments.

 

[biffvernon]

you have no right to a view.

That's not what folk who object to windfarms think.

 

[Flyfisher]

Unfortunately, the planning rules tend to make 'garden grabbing' or 'in-fill' developments much easier than trying to extend the existing building lines into the fields around villages.

As others have pointed out, you have no automatic right to a view, the proposed development will presumably be within the building line of the village, an additional two new homes is hardly likely to change the character of the village or have a significant impact on the local facilities and, apparently, the government is all for building new houses.

I think you'll need to find some 'hard' policy-type reasons for objecting to this application - ruining your view is unlikely to make a good case.

 

[Stephen]

Biff

Many people think that views should be protected (for whatever reason), but there really is no automatic right to any view. Another problem is that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and sometimes in some situations (e.g. with wind farms) a sacrifice is needed for the greater good (of course assuming all factors are properly considered).

That said in certain areas (e.g. those of Outstanding Natural Beauty) the views will have a degree of protection. Further, for some years there has been a move towards things such as 'townscapes', 'streetscene', etc and therefore an acknowledgement that some views are worth preserving.

The issue here however, and one often used by objectors to proposals, is that of an individuals right to a view, which simply does not exist as such.

Another point on this particular case is that it seems Sahara has reached an opinion on the matter before seeing the detailed application. No doubt there is some justification in the concern expressed, but until the detail is known is it not inappropriate to be quite so ready to object merely for the sake of it?

Without knowing anything about the case it could be that the existing buildng is not aesthetically pleasing and that the proposed houses are aesthetically an improvement. There is a possibility that the positioning and orientation of the houses on the site mean that the impact is less than at present feared.

Whilst fully accepting of Sahara's concern (Which could indeed be well founded) it does bother me that people are too ready to simply object and oppose before knowing the detail.

 

[Sahara]

Thanks all for your input. I guess I will not be able to construct too much of an arguement until I know the exact positions/size of the houses that are proposed. Having had a scout around various council websites, I found a list of potential grounds that are accepted as valid points that may be usable depending on the exact plans submitted:

Overlooking/loss of privacy
Visually intrusive
Inadequate parking or servicing
Over development/excessive density
Overbearing impact

I will look into the over-shadowing idea as I should imagine this will certainly affect us, I do not know if it will be to enough of an extent for it to be usable though. I shall have to look further into the other ideas above for now and hope I can construct enough arguments.

 

[biffvernon]

Er, yes Stephen. My comment was just a joke. Not a very good one, evidently.

 

[Nemesis]

Tomorrow's Hexham Courant has a great deal in it about 'loss of views' from a number of planning applications for wind 'farms'.

Added together, it's a significant loss.

 

[Manks]

Hire a planning consultant. Some will tell you to sod off but some will do anything for money. I see no reason why one wouldn't turn from poacher to gamekeeper for the right price.

If the development really is going to mess up your lot that much, it's worth spending money to protect it.

You will likely get exactly nowhere by appearing to be a NIMBY whinger. But raise valid planning objections and you may, I say may because increasingly there is a presumption towards development, have some success.

Manks

 

[middi]

I can sympathise with your dilemma, a spot of bad luck( maybe ?) from your point of view.

It appears that your main objection is " visual obstruction " . As other have said it is not a valid planning objection.

You have to genuinelly say to youself " would I have cared if this building application was out of my line of sight".

It has to be appreciated that in order for villages to regenerate a limited number of dwellings must be built on a regular basis and somewhere along the line someone will fall in the line of "fire".

 

[Pford75]

TBH, I can't have much sympathy.

You've already stated that you don't know the particular details of the application, yet are already opposed. This does seem somewhat like NIMBYism. As Middi points out, we do need more housing and we all must therefore accept that some infill development will occur.

Once the details are published, you may then have a right to object....but objecting in advance of seeing the plans seems a little unreasonable. Your conveyancer should have made you aware upon purchase that you had no 'right' to a view.

My advice is to focus your efforts positively and try to ensure that the development is in keeping with the area, that the site is well managed and the houses are 'quality'.

 

[Nemesis]

I suspect that there will be no ability to make any changes to the plans, if they are ready to be submitted.

I wouldn't like this to happen to me either, and I don't see it as Nimbyism to try to protect what you love about your own home. If that involves the open views, then yes I too would try to prevent that loss. It's also a wise move to find out now, while there is time to think about it, on what planning grounds objections can be made.

I have never known a conveyancer give advice such as 'you have no right to a view'!

And let's face it - it's usually not the warm glow of providing housing which makes people want to develop plots - it's to make cash for themselves.

 

[Cloudscape]

So many people have houses where the view is part of the point, and close to the house and its garden, the immediate view is arguably part of the 'setting'. My house looks down onto open fields and hills further away. The nearest field is ripe for having some houses plonked on it. A small section already has modern houses on it. One day, I won't have a view. I won't like it, but I doubt I'll be able to stop the change.

SO many villages have 'modern' (anything post-war to now) additions. Sometimes the mix works visually, and sometimes something of the special feel is lost.

Many villages, where house prices have rocketed, attract new developments because (yes, I know this is cynical) of the financial gains that can be made. People can waffle on about the need for more houses, and especially about "low cost" housing. It all sounds like everyone just has to accept progress.

But we weren't all born yesterday.

In some villages, you'll never win with the council and the wealthier land-owners... if they want it... they get it. The village where my house is has six two-storey bungalows. These are very unusual houses - they start, on the plans, with one storey, and end up with two. It's done with magic. :wink:

 

[skier-hughes]

I suspect that there will be no ability to make any changes to the plans, if they are ready to be submitted.

This sounds odd to me, surely the idea of submitting plans is to see if anybody objects, what reasons and then to change the plans to suit the law, building regs etc, otherwise what's the point of submitting a plan?????

it's to make cash for themselves

What's wrong with people making a living if it's an honest one? surely you went to work for the money?

 

[Nemesis]

Once the plans are in then I'm afraid objectors will have few grounds to have them changed. Simply because you don't like the design is not, in general terms, a reason for refusal. Ojections are taken very little notice of unless they are valid and strong ones, such as traffic difficulties.

Yes, it's a living, but don't mistake it for anything else like philanthropy. Usually it's not.

 

[Flyfisher]

I wouldn't like this to happen to me either, and I don't see it as Nimbyism to try to protect what you love about your own home

Of course it's NIMBYism, unless you truly believe that there should be no new houses, which is just not practical.

I'm sure everyone would prefer that their immediate locale is never affected by new housing, new roads, etc, but it's an unfortunate reality that this is simply not possible for everyone.

Our first house was in a small development of about 20 mixed houses on the edge of a village. They had been built about 10 years previously. Soon after we moved in we were invited to join the 'village preservation society', the main aim of which was to oppose any and all new planning applications in the village. The main active members of this 'society' all lived in the new houses that, 10 years earlier, they would have been strongly opposed to.

These people were happy to have new houses built for their own benefit but were then opposed to any further building that would benefit others. NIMBYism? Hypocrisy? Human nature? Whatever it's called I don't think it's particularly edifying.

 

[skier-hughes]

Once the plans are in then I'm afraid objectors will have few grounds to have them changed. Simply because you don't like the design is not, in general terms, a reason for refusal. Ojections are taken very little notice of unless they are valid and strong ones, such as traffic difficulties.

Quite, proper objections on proper grounds may change the plans, but only once they've been submitted.

Pre-submittal you could try working with the developer, but until that notice is popped in your letter box you often don't know anything.

 

[Nemesis]

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/terence-blacker/terence-blacker-nimbyism-should-be-applauded-not-despised-768090.html


I think we have in this country the ability to object to any planning permission application we don't like, although to be taken any notice of these objections have to be on sound planning grounds.

I don't think trying to protect something you love is really being a hypocrite. If that's the view from your window, and that's the reason you bought the house, then I think it's simply human nature to want to protect that.

Same as there are always those who will suck in their teeth and be pompous. Human nature. 8)