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Housing development issue

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  • 27-05-2021 10:21am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 9


    Apologies if in the wrong forum.
    We live on a new build estate, it's still in development.

    About two years ago, the builders moved their yard across the road from our house. Specifically, the gate to the yard is on our road. It's their base, it has a portacabin office, containers, toilets, skips and all their machinery and raw materials.
    It was on another part of the development but I think they moved it here so they didn't have to cross a main road umpteen times a day. For the past two years, they've been driving their machinery up and down the road all day every day. They get all the deliveries down our road (think flatbed and large equipment deliveries every single day). They create a lot of noise, a lot of dirt and a lot of inconvenience, yet nothing has been built on our road.
    There will be duplexes built where the yard is eventually, we knew that we'd have to put up with that when we bought the house, but at the moment they just use our road as a thoroughfare.

    The dirt is the worst part. The yard isn't paved or tarmac-ed, just earth. So if it rains, it turns to mud and the vehicles coming out of the yard drop it all over our road. They don't clean it up so it turns to dust when it's dry, and then they raise the dust every single time they tear up the roads in the JCB/telehandler/whatever vehicle.
    This dust has destroyed our house - the driveway is caked with it, the windows are filthy hours after washing them, our cars have a layer of dust on them ALL THE TIME, it gets under my brake pads, it's in the window seals of the car, probably causes a lot of damage to the paintwork and whatever other damage that I don't even know about.
    The hinges of the windows on the house are seizing. If a window is left open there's dust left in the room.
    There's a few other issues - noise, rat infestations (which they did tackle), builders doing nixers on the weekend so the yard is in use 7 days a week...things like that. It's a constant and frustrating issue.

    I contacted them 2 years ago, a few weeks after they moved in, saying that the dust was causing issues. They told me they'd move the gate (to the other side of the yard where there were no houses), it never happened and they haven't acknowledged anything since.
    I've asked the individual builders to slow down etc to stop raising the dust, but sure they forget about that after a couple of hours. I've tried to approach anyone who looks like their in charge but they say there's nothing they can do. I've asked our residents association to help, but nobody seems bothered. From talking to neighbours, it does annoy them, but not enough to do anything about it. They don't seem to care as much for some reason.
    I recently wrote an email to the developer, and any related people, saying could they just wash the windows every few weeks, could they leave out a power hose to wash down the cars or could they just tar mac the yard so it's not creating dust. Could they just do something in return for the issues they're causing to keep the residents happy - it got ignored.
    I reckon there's still another 2 years of building left. Is there anything I can do to stop them destroying my house/car? Or do I just need to put up with it?

    I understand this might be a classic case of nimbyism but I'm just so sick and tired of everything being caked in dust all the time.


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 498 ✭✭Mikros


    Check the planning permission for the development. Very likely there is a condition around the hours of construction and dust and noise management. If the developer is in breach of any of these a complaint to the council might concentrate their mind a little.

    I don't think it is nimbyism and the developer really should have come to some arrangement with you and the neighbours. Any big development I've seen has had road sweepers going up and down the road after construction vehicles all day long. A certain amount of disruption is inevitable but it sounds like they are taking the piss.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9 UnthoughtKnown


    Thanks for the reply.

    They send out a roadsweeper on a Saturday morning. 1 sweep a week. Sometimes, the weekend guys start driving the machinery 20 mins after the road being cleaned undoing everything. It's ridiculous!

    I'll look into the planning. I know there's a lot of documentation in there so might take a while to find something.

    I'll start sending them invoices for my time spent cleaning cars and windows in the mean time :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 492 ✭✭wpd


    I would be contacting a solicitor

    they are damaging your property on a daily basis
    if they previously agreed to move gate and then didnt then that is an issue too


  • Registered Users Posts: 570 ✭✭✭Yakov P. Golyadkin


    I'll look into the planning. I know there's a lot of documentation in there so might take a while to find something.

    Just look for the grant of permission (or something similarly titled), that will have the conditions and, as said, there is generally one regarding keeping adjoining roads clean. Once you find that send a complaint to planning enforcement and let them take it from there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9 UnthoughtKnown


    Thanks for the replies
    wpd wrote: »
    I would be contacting a solicitor

    they are damaging your property on a daily basis
    if they previously agreed to move gate and then didnt then that is an issue too

    I think a solicitor would be a last resort
    Just look for the grant of permission (or something similarly titled), that will have the conditions and, as said, there is generally one regarding keeping adjoining roads clean. Once you find that send a complaint to planning enforcement and let them take it from there.

    Great, thank you


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  • Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    If the road is unsafe such as muck and dirt constantly then the machine would want to be there working on it numerous times a day, only issue then is it will be much louder and annoying for you and others.

    Have you spoken to the builder/company and voiced your concerns?


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