Neighbour planning single storey extension to side of house.

[wigwam12]

Our neighbour recently informed me they would like to do a full-width extension to the side of their house.
Currently we have kitchens which see each other over the boundary fence.
We have 2 long windows along ours as this is main inlet of light (and a smaller window at the "end" of the kitchen overlooking our garden).

There is about 1m from our wall to the fence and about double that from his wall to said fence.

They propose to bring it MUCH closer to the fence and it will be a blank wall so we look at a brick wall just under 2m fro our back door/windows.

My main concern is loss of ambient light to the kitchen but also it looking really drawn in a gloomy,

View media item 79348
crude drawing.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

What's your point? Stop winging.

 

[wigwam12]

Bit abrupt wasn't it?!

All I was trying to do was get a handle on what is "allowable" in terms of inconvenience (for want of a better word) to neighbours.

If having to deal with end result being i look at a brick wall and the ambient light is blocked then so be it; if that isn't the case I could at least have the means of an amicable conversation.

 

[wessex101]

Its a bit odd that neighbour has a garage in rear garden. With that bay window on side I don't see how they would have got a car down there.

Might be worth checking deeds to see if that is supposed to be a shared driveway that they have fenced off.

Otherwise cannot see grounds to object. No right to natural daylight to kitchen as far as I am aware.

Although having just re-read your post it would appear that neighbour is only extending out by 1 metre? That is rather odd, hardly worth the expense and effort.

 

[wigwam12]

Thank you for the help.
As you say it isn't wide enough to drive a car down. Looks like it was built same time as the extension at the back and used for storage I think.
I will ask him just how far he is coming (he did tell me but I was 3/4 asleep at the time - might be much closer to the fence) but I guess that makes no odds either

 

[tony1851]

If their proposal is 'permitted development' (which it almost certainly will be), there is very little you can do.
You may have acquired a right to light, but who wants to start legal proceedings over that?
Might be best to just live with it without formally complaining.

 

[wigwam12]

Thanks Tony.
I guess I didn't really express myself well. I was trying to give lots of info about the location just to explain what was planning to be done.
This is all new ground for me as I have never had a neighbour extend at my previous house but know these things can get "fraught"
We are still newish neighbours (we have only been there over a year).
It struck me a slightly odd when he knocked-on to inform me that he seemed altogether too "relieved" when I shrugged and told him "fair enough" after he told me what he was planning so I wondered what I was missing.

If there is scope for discussion I wanted to understand what; if there is nothing to be done then I just wanted to be sure of the situation so we can get on and not wonder "what if" when my leccy bill goes up

I didn't at all want to make this "difficult" for formal as I want to maintain good neighbourly relations as best as I can.

Appreciate the advice and guidance chaps

 

[mattylad]

You have your house built closer to the boundary, so why should they not do so too?

See the point?

Who last paid for the fence? You might want to ensure that there are no plans on coming over the boundary - ensure that they have not got it so their gutters or extraction come over.