Rear Extension Rejection and Neighbours

[zra86]

Hi,

I would really appreciate any help or advice on my situation.

We've recently purchased a terraced house and had applied for a single storey 6meter rear extension (3m in height). Our direct neighbours to our right, as well as, all the houses opposite us already have this extension as well as outhouses and we were somewhat confident we would get approval.

Our neighbours to the left are end terrace, with a larger home/garden but have no extension at the back. The sun also rises from their side so there is no risk of the shadow being overcast from our potential extension onto their home/garden. Our plans for the extension also do not involve any windows overlooking them and would just be a wall. They do however have a bay window facing out into their garden. We had spoken to the neighbour about our plans and they did not comment further on it so we went ahead with our application. However, this was objected by them on the grounds of loss of light, privacy concerns and loss of amenity.

We had met with them again after this rejection to explain how there would be no loss of light as the sun comes from their direction so there will be no shadow, and reiterated that there will be nothing overlooking them in regards to privacy concerns. With the loss of amenity, we didn't understand, as we already have a high fence up and it wouldn't make much of a difference? they said they were happy with our justification for this so we reapplied, but were then hit with the same objection from them on the same grounds. They have also now cut communication with us. We are now anticipating a final rejection from the council.

My questions are:

- Do we bother in appealing this objection as we believe this judgment is unfair especially as many homes around us have been granted permission?

-Will their reasons, like loss of amenity, trump our arguments?

-Do we just cut out losses, save money and time and do 3m under PD (permitted development)?

-Finally, could these neighbours do anything to stop our 3m rear extension done under PD?
(of course with this option we will still have to issue a party wall agreement)

I understand this is a lot of info and it's difficult to give any solid answers but your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sxturbo]

There is precedent in the local area so to me it seems odd that they have made a decision based on a single complaint without looking into it further, has the planning inspector come out and viewed the property?

 

[zra86]

thank you for your reply! I forgot to mention another reason the neighbours objected was due to a sense of enclosure, so not sure if that makes a difference.

also no, no one has come to view the property.

In our official rejection statement from the first application the council mentioned:

-the enlarged part would be built off the first floor original rear projection which would form an extension with a width greater than half the width of the original dwellinghouse and therefore it does not comply with Article 3,Schedule 2,Part 1,Class A of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended). And therefore impacting our adjoining neighbour.

-The proposal, by way of its depth, height and position in the shared boundary is excessive, thereby incurring adverse impacts on the amenities of neighboring property, resulting in overshadowing, adverse outlook and an increased sense of enclosure. The adverse impacts are significant. Prior approval is required, and the application is refused because of the above-stated reason

Again, not sure how these comments are fair especially if our neighbours have all been granted these extensions?

 

[sxturbo]

Are you have an upstairs extension?

Maybe it's me misunderstanding, what's written, or are they calling ground floor first floor?

I always thought single story extension can go the full width of the house under pd

1. the enlarged part would be built off the first floor original rear projection which would form an extension with a width greater than half the width of the original dwellinghouse

 

[zra86]

No, we're not having an upstairs extension, I believe they were referring to where the roof of the extension would come out from and that it was too high?

I apologise for the confusion those statements are from our first application, I believe our architect has lowered/amended this in our most recent application. We are now waiting on the council to make the final decision but pretty sure it's the same outcome due to the neighbours refusal.

 

[zra86]

Ive just attached a pdf of the difference, but i believe it was referring to this:

 

[sxturbo]

Ah right,

Thought about just getting rid of the parapet all together to bring the roof height down a bit further?

Parapet is probably aesthetically pleasing, but maybe you can just have it on the front elevation that you can see in your garden

 

[zra86]

we could do it, but don't think it would make a huge difference on the decision being made on our application now since the last time the planning officer said it was refused mostly due to neighbours objection?

 

[^woody^]

What did you actually apply for - planning permission or prior approval?

 

[zra86]

It was a Prior approval application

 

[sxturbo]

It was a Prior approval application

If that's the case I didn't think that neighbours rejections were taken into account and instead as long as it met legal requirement it should get approved. But I'm not an expert

https://resi.co.uk/advice/planning-permission/planning-and-prior-approval

 

[cdbe]

My 6m NCS was rejected following objection from my neighbour. I got the feeling they just reject without much consideration. That was when it was free, there was no consultation with me but they did visit the neighbour. I applied for planning instead and got a visit from the planning officer who "advised and suggested" amendments to my scheme which would make it acceptable. I ended up with 5.5m on the ground floor and a narrower first floor coming out 4.5m.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

If that's the case I didn't think that neighbours rejections were taken into account and instead as long as it met legal requirement it should get approved. But I'm not an expert

https://resi.co.uk/advice/planning-permission/planning-and-prior-approval

The planners will absolutely take into consideration the neighbours objections and will make a judgement call. It should be thought of as permitted development subject to the neighbours objections.

 

[sxturbo]

The planners will absolutely take into consideration the neighbours objections and will make a judgement call. It should be thought of as permitted development subject to the neighbours objections.

Oh ok, that wasn't how it was worded in the link.

"The good news about prior approval, when compared to a full planning application, is there’s less subjectivity in the assessment. While planning applications can be accepted and rejected by your council’s own unique criteria, prior approval ensures your project is only being judged against fixed legal requirements - making planning success that much easier to achieve."

I don't think he can go PD for a 6meter long extension

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

That link, like many others on the web is poorly written and just plain wrong in some respects, take a look at about the only link you can rely on for a layman's explaination. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/17/extensions/2

You can go 6m on a terraced property but only if nobody objects or the council disagree with the objections.