Decking on a sloping garden - urgent help pls!

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We've stumbled into a nightmare!
We built a 4.8m2 decking at the end of our garden (120ft in length and sloping upwards). It is on the top tier, and this tiering has been part of the garden for at least 50 years I'd say (it's been overgrown for at least 20 years and I'm guessing the tier age by the rocks etc. which are in situ).
The decking is 140mm high at the back which is adjoining the highest ground level sloping down from the gardens that back onto ours. It is then 420mm at the front to make it a level deck.
We understood that the PD for decking was under 300mm from the highest adjoining ground level.
Someone has complained about it however and so the council have gotten involved, and they have just left me a message stating that it needs to be under 300mm all round or we need to apply for planning permission.
We are in the midst of forced sale of the house as my husband has lost his job and we can really do without this to contend with.
Is it correct that it has to be 300mm all the way around? I can't see how this would work on even steeper slopes than ours - are people just not allowed to build anything on them in that case?
 
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you use the word adjoining

it must be covering the point
so measure from the hieghest point it covers
 
Thanks.
That's exactly the definition I was going by. I'll speak to the planning officer and see what regulations he's quoting that are apparently contrary to this.
 
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Big-all, my husband actually dug down a bit, so that 140mm is from the highest ground level the edge of the decking is resting on, which is in fact now lower than the adjoining ground.
It's basically one decking panel high at the back and 3 high at the front (each measuring 140mm), but the guy is saying that we need to terrace it part way so that it's no higher than 2 panels all the way around to come in under PD.
This is something that we could do, but I feel upset that the regs aren't being adhered to and wanted to understand if it's possible for them to make a decision which is contrary to what is stated?
 
No, it's all on one section of garden which has been terraced historically (clearly decades before our time as to the best of our knowledge it's been over grown for 20 years!).
It's 120ft garden with roughly 20ft patio outside the back door, then up to 40 ft level grass area, next level up to 30 ft slightly sloping wasteland and then final tier is 30ft chalk etc with a gentle slope which is what we've decked over.
Quite a few of the other gardens have outbuildings up the top which are far bigger (but presumably within PD) as the end of the garden isn't much use due to the ground make up and slopes.
What's so frustrating is that if we had paved it, or fake turfed or something else to sit on it would still be at the same height but no planning could be called into question.
Ultimately if we do what he's asking it's only going to drop the front 3 panels (so 420mm portion of a 4.8mtr deck) down by 140mm. It seems like a totally futile exercise.
 
you don't have to drop it if it complies [which it seems to] you have to get him to interpret the guidelines correctly thats your problem here

ask him to check with colleagues for there opinions
 
I agree. Thanks for your help on this guys. Have just spoken to him and he reckons that he's spoken to colleagues and they're in agreement.
He's trying to tell me that the amendments in 2008 meant that you can measure 'height' from multiple points on sloping ground, not just the highest adjoining (or covering;)) ground.
I've queried this with him and have pointed him to the householders technical guidance doc for reference and he's going to come back to me.
The person I think has made the complaint actually works for the council in a different dept so am wondering if that may have something to do with it...
 
As posted above...

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/100806_PDforhouseholders_TechnicalGuidance.pdf

Dated January 2013 and specifically mentions the 2008 update

The 2008 rules on household permitted development amended rules from 1995.2
However, some of the terms used in the 2008 rules remain as defined in 1995.
These include:

‘Height’ - references to height (for example, the heights of the eaves on a house
extension) is the height measured from ground level.3
Ground level is the surface of
the ground immediately adjacent to the building in question. Where ground level is
not uniform (e.g. if the ground is sloping), then the ground level is the highest part of
the surface of the ground next to the building
 
He's not budging. Has told me to see a planning consultant if I want to take it further.
Trouble is with the house sale imminent we need to get this sorted and signed off under PD asap so our hands are tied.
We're off to lop the front 3 panels off now :(
 
He's not budging. Has told me to see a planning consultant if I want to take it further.
Trouble is with the house sale imminent we need to get this sorted and signed off under PD asap so our hands are tied.
We're off to lop the front 3 panels off now :(

You don't need to take it further, the COUNCIL need to take it further, they probably won't because they are wrong. But I can see it will make life more difficult in the meantime, you could always remove the boards and leave them for any buyer to re-instate.
 

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