Challenging council letter

Can we challenge a visit and subsequent letter from council telling us our deck is too high when checking permitted development regs we believe they have measured from lowest rather than highest original ground level (sloping garden with long deck)?

 

So youve got a jealous neighbour

The pds rules arent very clear as they state: 'measure from the highest adjoining ground'

Whatever that means

 

No comment ref neighbour

Yes I know - regs seem as clear as mud - and some cases seem to win appeal on this basis while others do not. Hmmmm - may sit it out, try to challenge with council planning team and then see if they are prepared to enforce.

 

There are several recent threads on this very thing.

If the house is new then most likely PD rights will have been removed and you would have to apply, albeit for free.

So there are two issues - breach of PD, or breach of planning (due to Article 4)?

 

To be honest the letter is very vague - it doesn't even properly specify the measurements taken and what the breach is for (although the title 'alleged creation of raised decking' is a clue) - the officer during the visit told us we were 17cm over and the letter stated 'the work described above has been carried out without planning permission and is such unauthorised' and then goes on to say we need to apply for reto planning or remove. Wasn't aware of the PD thing - do you know how we find out about that - property was built over 3 years ago..

 

Sorry should also add - he was quoting the 30cm rule at me during the visit - so assuming planning - he clearly took the measurement from the lowest point of garden

 

You need to clarify with the planners exactly what they are alleging and under what legislation, as the action and options available to you will differ.

The planners will advise you if PD rights have been removed as an "Article 4 directive" on the estate, or via a condition on the property.

 

Thanks Woody. I’ve also just read about the 50% rule in terms of area and I’m slightly concerned we may exceed - the deck has various cut outs where there are flower beds and a sunk in hot tub which is not on any decking - does anyone know if these can be excluded from the total calculation of coverage? What a pain!

 

The 50% is o of the total area surrounding the original house so it would include the front garden and side paths too

 

That is AMAZING - our front garden is decking and structure free so we should be within PD for this them (which probably explains why council guy did not mention on his visit and only took the height measurement) - thinking this is worth disputing now

 

You still need to check for and read any article 4 directions as mentioned by woody, and check the property title, as some permitted development rights may have been removed.

 

Thread creep, apologies. (We prob don't want another deck thread.)

I have a deck in the garden that IS NOT adjacent to the house, but IS on a slope. The ground slopes up to my boundary wall, beyond which the slope continues upward to the road 10m beyond the wall. (We live down in a dip.) The ground slopes two ways, so one corner is supported on timber posts, probably 4 foot high at the highest point. WTF do I stand in all of this! Only interested, it's been there 15 years+, and I have no irritating neighbours moning about it. Cheers.

CG

 

On the decking of course.

The measurement does not need to be taken adjacent to the house, but is taken from the highest ground adjacent to the development - ie the deck. Further, the "adjacent land" could well be in the neighbours garden if that helps any situation.

 

Its out of time, so no enforcement action can be taken.

 

I will ask the planning officer - although in my LA they charge you £50 for a face to face visit for any assistance or queries when responding to their letter/applying for planning, but given how vague their initial letter is with no reference to legislation of the finer detail of the brief I think I will also challenge paying that! May also check with developer if they have an info on PD rights being in place or removed. Gotta love a project eh