Planning Objections

SpeedFreak said:
Lower the footings, lower the upstairs ceiling, reduced the roof pitch and move the building by 1m. The ceilings are vaulted so should have no impact really. Crossing our fingers that this is enough.
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Is lowering the ceiling a result of reducing the pitch? If not, I can't see why that matters. Much like how moving the building by 1 m sounds pointless without any context.
 
All trivial but adds up. The pitch change takes off about 0.4m. we have also set the building lower by 0.15m and reduced the height to the eaves by 0.15m by reducing the upstairs wall height.

That, in conjunction with moving the building by 1m should add up to enough to tip the balance (we hope).
 
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Still ongoing, we have made a few further amendments and have cited similar applications that were approved despite being larger properties closer to smaller bungalows in the area. All very slow with the planners as they seem quite stretched.

Interestingly we have another updated objection which has raised an accusation against us which is entirely false. Honestly, people can be so petty!

We wait....
 
SpeedFreak said:
Still ongoing, we have made a few further amendments and have cited similar applications that were approved despite being larger properties closer to smaller bungalows in the area. All very slow with the planners as they seem quite stretched.

Interestingly we have another updated objection which has raised an accusation against us which is entirely false. Honestly, people can be so petty!

We wait....
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People are certainly odd,

Can't believe this is going so slowly for you.
 
I think it depends a lot on the council you are in how they handle planning issues, around here unless it fundamentally goes against the published neighbourhood plan, or fundamentally alters the environment of neighbouring properties (light etc) then it usually goes through. I've been on both sides of planning proposals, and can see how easily it can get heated, just gotta keep your cool and stick to the facts/rules.

And if all else fails you can appeal, from what I've seen most appeals get approval.
 
The council where I live are bonkers, the people over the road wanted to put a front dormer in , all the neighbours wrote to say they didn’t mind, the next door neighbours (it’s a semi) have a front dormer. But oh no you can’t have a front dormer round here mate.

The houses nearby seem to have massive extensions.
 
Mind you sometimes they do the right thing. Some developer built a massive house nearby on the main road out of town, but completely ignored all the requirements imposed by planning, built in in the wrong position, cleared all the trees they needed to provide cover from the road, but it taller than it was supposed to be, and didn't use the external finishes in the plans as required by planning approval.

The inspectors flagged all the issues during the build but we're just ignored, I guess the developers thought they could just get retrospective approval.

Couldn't sell it because it didn't get approved, so rented it out for a bit, now it's been condemned.
 
SpeedFreak said:
Anyone else face the pain of objections to planning applications based on opinion rather than fact? We are building a new house and have had some lovely comments. One neighbour has described the proposed property as overbearing and an overdevelopment of our site. Their house has exactly the same footprint as ours in a plot half the size! I should ignore, but it is hard not to take these things personally. What makes it more irritating is the cowardice, with the neighbour not willing to have a conversation ahead of lodging an objection.

We have had a few others. One complaining about access for pushchairs when we are improving accessibility and visibility around the entire perimeter of the site. Another just said they didn't like the design. We have had three objections from people who don't even live in the road lol.

Mini rant over.
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So if I read this thread correctly you are building an additional new house on a plot that is a sub-division or neighbouring empty plot next to the existing bungalow?

If so, IME two aspects of your proposal would cause a crap storm:
1. Adding any new property, especially double storey, in a street always causes the jealous types and also the genuine objections. It's absolutely fine to say that plonking a new double storey building will of course change peoples vista's, might slightly affect light, ultimately there will be almost no positives for everyone around it, except in your case maybe developing an overgrown plot.
2. If the style is marmite (personally, once wood has silvered it looks untidy and bedraggled, a look that very much can be at odds with surrounding houses) then expect people to object even more vociferously.

I have no issues with what you are doing as an outsider, I'd probably do the same, but you can't stick your head in the sand and pretend people should be OK with it.. Just go with the process, ignore the objections, they don't automatically mean anything unless they are upheld and don't worry about appealing, if this is what you want, you are most likely to get the majority of it through which it sounds like so far that is true.

And stop with the cowardice thought train.. clearly from your reactions to the comments which is to dismiss them out of hand, what utility would it be if people said this to your face? You'd suddenly agree and not do it? Of course not.. This is why we have a planning process.. It's actually better to give the people an outlet, get it out their system and overall once passed they'll back down and soon forget or at least stop taking it further since they know its been heard by authority and ruled on.

Remember, it'll be worth it in the end, and always be humble/courteous to the neighbours when you get planning, people may get a bit snarky, but politeness and friendliness always wins them over, they can't be mad at someone that is always nice to them..

I have a colleague in work that wanted to build a very modern stylish building in a village.. literally the entire village erupted and he had 40 objections!.. we used to talk about it often and he approached it with the smother them with kindness attitude.. he would head things off, pop in the local shop, politely explain he was the one building the controversial house, they would be a bit off, but polite enough and he'd talk with them and slowly built some rapport with the locals.. in the end he got planning, had to make only minor alterations and sure enough, people have had their say, it's been ruled on, and within 9 months people are often stopping by whilst he's working on it and having a good chat and he's now accepted and people are far more positive about it..

SpeedFreak said:
What do you make of this? Parish Council Planning Committee has no objections, however the Chair of the same committee has separately commented on the application and personally objected.
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Just see what happens, it depends on his comment/objection, it might just end up being noted and still passed, or they may reject, but just appeal it, most often all subjective objections are overturned at appeal.
 
SpeedFreak said:
Why are the planning departments overstretched? Maybe because they are over reaching?
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In my professional opinion, and based on anecdotes, it's due to lower pay than the private sector, which doesn't attract enough people.

Similarly, building Control is equally very thinly spread. One local Building Control authority even subcontract checking work to our company, which is great for us, but not great for council tax payers, because our rates will be higher. It's not cost effective.

I also despair at local authority red tape and inefficiencies.
 
Demon said:
So if I read this thread correctly you are building an additional new house on a plot that is a sub-division or neighbouring empty plot next to the existing bungalow?

If so, IME two aspects of your proposal would cause a crap storm:
1. Adding any new property, especially double storey, in a street always causes the jealous types and also the genuine objections. It's absolutely fine to say that plonking a new double storey building will of course change peoples vista's, might slightly affect light, ultimately there will be almost no positives for everyone around it, except in your case maybe developing an overgrown plot.
2. If the style is marmite (personally, once wood has silvered it looks untidy and bedraggled, a look that very much can be at odds with surrounding houses) then expect people to object even more vociferously.

I have no issues with what you are doing as an outsider, I'd probably do the same, but you can't stick your head in the sand and pretend people should be OK with it.. Just go with the process, ignore the objections, they don't automatically mean anything unless they are upheld and don't worry about appealing, if this is what you want, you are most likely to get the majority of it through which it sounds like so far that is true.

And stop with the cowardice thought train.. clearly from your reactions to the comments which is to dismiss them out of hand, what utility would it be if people said this to your face? You'd suddenly agree and not do it? Of course not.. This is why we have a planning process.. It's actually better to give the people an outlet, get it out their system and overall once passed they'll back down and soon forget or at least stop taking it further since they know its been heard by authority and ruled on.

Remember, it'll be worth it in the end, and always be humble/courteous to the neighbours when you get planning, people may get a bit snarky, but politeness and friendliness always wins them over, they can't be mad at someone that is always nice to them..

I have a colleague in work that wanted to build a very modern stylish building in a village.. literally the entire village erupted and he had 40 objections!.. we used to talk about it often and he approached it with the smother them with kindness attitude.. he would head things off, pop in the local shop, politely explain he was the one building the controversial house, they would be a bit off, but polite enough and he'd talk with them and slowly built some rapport with the locals.. in the end he got planning, had to make only minor alterations and sure enough, people have had their say, it's been ruled on, and within 9 months people are often stopping by whilst he's working on it and having a good chat and he's now accepted and people are far more positive about it..


Just see what happens, it depends on his comment/objection, it might just end up being noted and still passed, or they may reject, but just appeal it, most often all subjective objections are overturned at appeal.
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I don't disagree. We have pretty much taken the kindness approach but have come to the conclusion that some people will never be happy.

We haven't dismissed all objections and have responded to most, including speaking with the neighbours to explain our thoughts and have made concessions.
 
Unless the neighbour is objecting on actual points the local planning authority can take onto account in terms of the various national regulations etc and their own planning policies then they won't carry as much weight in the final decision.
I agree though it would be annoying having a neighbour do that and not just come to you beforehand to talk about their opinion on your plans!
 
Small update. Due to our changes to lessen the impact of the building the planning officer has decided to re-open our application for consultation. We have been local to the area for about 12-13 years and know many of our neighbours. They were aware of our application and given what has been developed nearby assumed we would have no issues. For that reason they had not commented on the application in support. For this round we have asked them to have a look at the updated design, and if they do like, or even dislike it, to make a comment. We are a bit fed up of the same people making the same comments on the application, some clearly with an axe to grind!

We are lead to understand from our architect that sufficient local support can trigger this to be called to planning committee at the local council (if called by a councillor), where we can make a strong case given local precedent and our design exceeding all objective elements of the Local Plan and BRE guidelines.

Another few weeks to kill...
 
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