Neighbours window not on planning application

cookie1234

Our neighbour has recently built a house on the site behind mine. The side of his house faces the back of mine.

According to the submitted plans available on the council planning website the wall which faces my house should only have a utility window, but instead a back door with ramp and a large kitchen window, which has direct line of site in to my kitchen, have been installed. Should any amended plans also be available on here? I don't want to call the council to check at this stage in case they start to investigate further.

I don't want to make a fuss, as I will obviously have to live next to the neighbours, but I would like to approach them about planting a hedge/trees to block the line of site. Does anyone have any ideas how best to go about approaching this?

I had thought about approaching the engineer who signed the property off as he must have noticed that the door and window wasn't on the original plans. Is this a good place to start?

Thanks in advance

muffler

cookie1234 wrote: »

Our neighbour has recently built a house on the site behind mine. The side of his house faces the back of mine.

According to the submitted plans available on the council planning website the wall which faces my house should only have a utility window, but instead a back door with ramp and a large kitchen window, which has direct line of site in to my kitchen, have been installed. Should any amended plans also be available on here? I don't want to call the council to check at this stage in case they start to investigate further.

I don't want to make a fuss, as I will obviously have to live next to the neighbours, but I would like to approach them about planting a hedge/trees to block the line of site. Does anyone have any ideas how best to go about approaching this?

I had thought about approaching the engineer who signed the property off as he must have noticed that the door and window wasn't on the original plans. Is this a good place to start?

Thanks in advance

There is never a guarantee that revised plans are scanned and put up on the website so you would be better off going to your local planning office and inspecting the hard copy of the file. Dont worry, you wont have to give a name.

I wouldnt recommend contacting their engineer.

markc

cookie1234 wrote: »

Our neighbour has recently built a house on the site behind mine. The side of his house faces the back of mine.

According to the submitted plans available on the council planning website the wall which faces my house should only have a utility window, but instead a back door with ramp and a large kitchen window, which has direct line of site in to my kitchen, have been installed. Should any amended plans also be available on here? I don't want to call the council to check at this stage in case they start to investigate further.

I don't want to make a fuss, as I will obviously have to live next to the neighbours, but I would like to approach them about planting a hedge/trees to block the line of site. Does anyone have any ideas how best to go about approaching this?

I had thought about approaching the engineer who signed the property off as he must have noticed that the door and window wasn't on the original plans. Is this a good place to start?

Thanks in advance

First off I'd speak to the neighbour. Express your concerns and ask if the revisions to the existing plans were published (maybe they were and u missed them). If they say everything is kosher then start a conversation about privacy etc and talk about options and how to split the costs of same. Double check the planning side though and don't commit to anything until u are sure. If you get the impression that they have violated the planning in such a major way then you need to consider your options. It seems like a very significant change. If they violated the planning the least they can do is pay for solving the privacy issue. You would also be well within your rights to raise it with the authorities.
( I say this as someone building a house to the rear of someone else's property. )

hexosan

I refer you to the saying "high walls make great neighbours" if ye can't see one another on a daily basis less chance of falling out. I'd be very careful whatever way you handle this as I've seen situations where neighbors fall out over the simplest of thinks and it snow balls into years of arguments and petty back and forth bickering. You can live in the biggest mansion in the most scenic location in the country but if you've bad blood with a neighbour it's just not worth it.

cookie1234

Thanks for the responses.

The neighbour can be a bit of a funny fish at times. I really don't want to cause an argument, particularly as he is local to the area and I am a blow in. I think approaching him directly about my concerns that he may have installed the window and door without planning is off the table initially, at least until I have double checked his file at the planning office.

If the window and door aren't on the planning permission and I do make a formal complaint what action could the council take?

There is a good 30m between our kitchen windows, but I'm finding myself getting more annoyed each time the neighbour waves over, am I being unreasonable?

coinshooter

You have as much right to your privacy as the next, blow in or not? what difference does that make. if you are not happy
now about the situation how do you think you will feel further down the road, i would be inclined to act on this now rather
than later. call up to the council and have a look at the file first a then take what steps necessary to insure your privacy.

hexosan

"High Walls" if you want to avoid the hassle plant a hedge row between the two property's. I'm not saying your not intitled to your privacy but if this starts into an argument with a neighbour especially "a local" you'll wish you just done this at the start.

MisseyB

My instant reaction is that someone who would do something so sensitive without discussing it with your first doesn't deserved to be treated with kit gloves. I used to live close to someone like this and the nicer i was the more they bullied, as soon as i stood up to them they turned into kitten. I'd be bloody furious if someone did this to me. To hell with neighbourly relations witn someone disrespects your feelings like this. What's the worst they could do if you fell out with one another.

cookie1234

I called the council and they have ordered my neighbours planning file so I will go in and check my facts are correct before I do anything else.

I was also wondering, if things do get official, could the engineer who signed off on the property find himself in hot water if planning permission has been breached?

muffler

cookie1234 wrote: »

If the window and door aren't on the planning permission and I do make a formal complaint what action could the council take?

The Council MUST act when a complaint is made and the enforcement section would carry out an inspection of the property to determine if regulations have been breached. Based on what you have posted they will then send a warning letter advising the guy to take whatever measures necessary to "regularise" the issue. The normal procedure would be for him to make an application for retention of the changes he made.

cookie1234 wrote: »

There is a good 30m between our kitchen windows

If I was a betting man my money would be on him getting retention planning permission but there could be conditions imposed regarding the protection of existing residential amenity....basically your privacy.

muffler

cookie1234 wrote: »

I was also wondering, if things do get official, could the engineer who signed off on the property find himself in hot water if planning permission has been breached?

Doubtful.

Brave Harvey

cookie1234.... I had thought about approaching the engineer who signed the property off as he must have noticed that the door and window wasn't on the original plans. Is this a good place to start?

Maybe a good thing to do would be check their submitted Landscape Plan which must be submitted to the council before any construction starts. On this plan privacy issues may have been dealt with, by the planting of hedgerows. And the council will have a number of conditions on the grant that the neighbours have to comply with to meet satisfactory build practices and measures regarding maintaining privacy from the neighbours may be a part of those conditions that the builder hasn't just yet got around to....