Neighbour Building New House in their Garden

Jimmy1111

Hi All,

My neighbours back garden faces the side of my house with an old style alley way in between.

He is applying for planning a new 2 storey 1 bed house at the end of his garden with its front door facing the main street and not the alley way. The new building will have frosted windows facing my garden but there is still a privacy issue and more importantly to me, a full 2 storey house 8 feet from my garden will block a lot of sun as this is the side of my garden that gets the most sun. (roughly South west) The estate is traditional 1940s council built estate and the new build will have a similiar finish/roof but will be a stand alone skinny building in the middle of standard semi-detached houses.

i know there is a housing crisis and new accommodation is needed but i feel as this house is rented, the landlord is squeezing every penny out of this property at the expense of the neighbours..

Do these new build developments usually get planning? or is there any argument i could make to the planning council in keeping this to single storey? any help would be appreciated.

thanks

Jim

endofrainbow

lodge an objection to your local council immediately .

theteal

As someone with a south west facing garden, which was high up on the priority list when buying, I would be following every course of objection to this. Are you on friendly terms with the owner?

Fann Linn

Get onto your council and object to it if it affects you. I've just watched a neighbour build a kitchen extension and tie it in to the party wall of the adjoining wall of the adjacent vacant house.

Some people will try anything.

Dempo1

Just based on your discription of this new build, I'd say neighbour will face quite a challenge getting planning permission. Does this proposed new build impact anyone else 🤔

It's curious why your neighbour not looking to extend existing property as opposed to building a completely new dwelling.

But absolutely get your objection in ASAP.

msdurden

If it's 2 story I'd say they're going to rent it out (or live in it & rent the original house).

Lodge your objection immediately.

My neighbours built a 1 story shed/outdoor office while I was on holidays & I couldn't object.

It blocks my sun, the door is high up so I can see his head going in/out.

Drives me crackers

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119413568#Comment_119413568

How long were you on holidays for???

Gant21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119414582#Comment_119414582

It may be a kit pod office. Crane it in.

head82

If you're lodging an 'objection' (I believe the council prefer to refer to it as an 'observation' now!), don't put too much stock in "my garden will be deprived of sunlight" as it won't carry any weight unless your garden is thrown into complete darkness for every moment the sun shines.

The general response is that you don't have a God given right to full sunlight on your patch of land. So long as your garden receives some sunlight throughout the course of the day, your objection is unlikely to be upheld.

Ideally, if you can get the support of another neighbor who is affected by this new build, it will help strengthen your case. Alternatively, you can employ surveyors etc. and submit reports but that's costly and still no guarantee of success.

pale rider

Submit an observation with your concerns within the time limits backed up reference to the local area you live in development plan and where the suggested building fails to meet these requirements.

if it meets conditions of planning it will get permission, you must therefore focus on a fact based observation, do this yourself if you are competent, personally having gone through this I would use a professional now, include photographs.

your concerns will be considered although to me the fact they are putting obscure glazing in just might be enough for them to succeed.

don’t bother talking to ur neighbour, they have already thought about how you would object and didn’t speak with you in advance, now I know they don’t have to but it was the smart move.

Senature

Back in 2005-2006, a neighbour of mine was looking for planning permission to build a house in their garden where the upstairs sitting room windows faced directly into my bedroom window, about 20 foot away.

Their proposed solution was 'opaque glazing'. I objected to the building on several grounds, including who was gonna enforce the opaque glazing requirement if the windows were ever broken or replaced. Also, depending on the style of the windows, once they are opened, my privacy was likely to be affected. Who wants opaque glazing on their sitting room windows anyway?

Council granted permission so it was appealed to An Bord Pleanala who then refused it.

I think having a number of neighbours submitting observations definitely helped.

Good luck op.

spaceHopper

I think you should ask around for an architect who specializes in planning and get them to write the objection for you it will be 10 times better that the one you draft yourself

endofrainbow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119419674#Comment_119419674

Thats rather patronising

is_that_so

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119420121#Comment_119420121

It may or may not be especially if someone, in the trade so to speak, knows what they are talking about and has the requisite lingo. If you are emotionally close to something or have limited knowledge your own effort may be less effective. Not offensive IMO and I'd be well capable of objecting. I'd still take it up or consider it as an option purely to do everything possible to prevent the planning going through.

MakersMark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119420121#Comment_119420121

Doesn't have to be an architect, but a planning consultants letter will be far more effective that a lay persons.

Not seeing how you can deem that as patronising.

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119420121#Comment_119420121

I totally disagree with that. It's their home they get one shot at it, why not get somebody who knows how planning works and has done it before to help draft a stronger objection that has a much higher chance of been listened to. It would cost them a few hundred euros, I'd invest that in my home in heart beat.

JohnnyChimpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119420121#Comment_119420121

this comment is rather dismissive of the specialist skillset of architects/engineers.

BronsonTB

'will block a lot of sun' - Don't use this on the observation - it carries no weight on a planning decision unless it covers the whole garden from daylight.

CramCycle

I objected to a neighbour on the basis that the frosted windows would overlook my previously private back garden and it was upheld as it cannot be guaranteed or enforced and you can still sort of see through them. They changed it so that no windows overlooked my garden. Not sure if this helps as my neighbour had side windows. At the very least they may have to redesign it.