Decking construction

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Hello all, I have a bit of an issue with my neighbours and the decking I have built over the last few weeks, can anyone offer some advice?

A bit of background: I moved into our house nearly a year ago, the back garden was a state and I have spent alot of time and money sorting it out. One of those things was to clear a mass of overgrown bushes and weeds at the bottom of my garden. After that I built a 2m fence and then just behind it i put up about 30m2 of decking.

Now my garden has a pretty steep slope into the bottom left hand corner and alot of the grass area is pretty much unusable as the slope is just too steep which is why i decided to build the decking. I understand it is my fault for not at least applying for permitted development and I have half completed a retrospective application.

Is this worth doing because I think the neighbours behind us are going to file an application with the enforcement office as they believe my decking is overlooking their garden (it is, at the moment).

The decking itself starts at ground level then as the ground slopes down ends up around 1m off at the other end. All the way along the fence I built sits at about 3.5ft above the decking. My plan is to either put trellis and plants along the top of the fence OR/AND put a planting row of soil along the back end of the decking running parallel to the fence to allow a better screen.

I genuinely didn't think this would be a problem but I guess from their perspective it may be a little intrusive at the moment. I suppose I should have asked them if this was going to be an issue before I had finished but it would have been bloody helpful if they would have said anything apart from "oh by the way your decking is overlooking us and we're going to ring the planning office". They wouldn't negotiate and were really rude about it. I AM willing to make compromises.

Photo attached. it is the house directly infront. there is about a 4-5 metre drop behind that fence into the side of their house. the fence/trellis doesn't block light anywhere apart from the side of their house which has no windows.


PS. I don't know if this would go in my favour but it is a shared boundary and I didn ALL the work and built the fence entirely at my own expense. They contributed nothing.
 
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Another thing I would like to add is that most garden in this area are overlooked by the houses to our right, they are much higher than the rest of the gardens by me. This is just part and parcel of living on the side of a small valley, essentially.
 
I understand it is my fault for not at least applying for permitted development and I have half completed a retrospective application.

You don't apply for permitted development, it is all ready granted - ie a form of pre-approval.

What you have done there is permitted development and does not require any planning application
 
even though I am (kinda) overlooking them? As long as I put in some form of screen there shouldn't be an issue right?
 
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Permitted development gives you (and everyone) the right to install a deck as long as it is not higher than 300mm from the highest ground level

Anyone can exercise their right and the neighbours can't say jack about it

You are under no obligation to install a screen, but you may want to and the neighbours may be happy if you did, but its all optional and nothing to do with planning

Ironically, if you raised that back fence more than 2m high, then it should require an application for planning permission to do it!
 
well thats a relief.

I'm not doing **** now I WANT to overlook them, if they feel the need to go behind my back and report me without talking to me. (we were friendly and did talk).
 
See now I've found other articles stating that you may need permission if it affects the privacy of your neighbour. who decides that? the neighbour or is it solely the decision of the planning/enforcement officer?

I just can't chill about this.
 
I just can't chill about this.
Good.

what do you mean? it's hardly overlooking and all I'm going to do is put a planting bed along the edge of fence parallel to it and not only will it stop you getting close enough to the fence to overlook it, it will also provide a screen of plants. I'm not being unreasonable here, considering they did NOTHING to the shared boundary, they were sure happy to let me do every inch of the work until they didn't like something.

some people.
 
as long as it is not higher than 300mm from the highest ground level

That is the received wisdom but apparently there has been a very recent enforcement case concerning the height of decking. An inspector has determined that the height of decking is not measured from the highest point of the ground adjacent to it, but mustn't exceed 300mm at every point along the decking.

This does seem peverse because it would effectively rule out any practical decking in sloping gardens.

Can't imagine the applicants would appeal this on a point of law because of the risk, and hopefully it won't set a precedent within the Planning Inspectorate, but it doesn't promote certainty.
 
If the planner/BCO does come out I honestly think he will have you move it .
Don't be surprised if he also mentions handrail and balustrading
 
oh of course it will have a handrail and balustrading of some sort, I just haven't finished it yet.

I can't move the decking. I can't dig down any deeper on the right hand side and in order to make it lower there will just be too many steps to make it practical. I could perhaps put 1 or 2 more in but thats another few weeks work no doubt :(
 
If the planner/BCO does come out I honestly think he will have you move it .
Don't be surprised if he also mentions handrail and balustrading
Planners have no say in handrails in this situation.
Building Control could only insist on such measures if the deck was necessary for means of access in to or out of the dwelling.
 

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