Extension and our gutters

[BlackSpot]

I have a 4.5m extension with a pitched roof on my end of terraced house. Our gutters do not encroach on our neighbour's land. We now have new neighbours and they have put in for a 6m extension with a flat roof that will go up to both side boundaries. This will leave us 15cm to be able to maintain/repair/replace our gutters in the future. I thought they would have to be at least 1m away from the gutters. Can I object on this premise? The other side does not have an extension.

Also they have put in for prior planning approval nor have they served us with any notice of works. The council where I live doesn't like extensions to end over 2.5m and their height is 3m throughout.

I don't object to them having an extension, but am concerned about the gutter repairs and possible damp problems not being able to be solved in the future.

Do I have grounds for objections? And if so, when do I have to object by?

 

[^woody^]

Anyone can build up to their boundary, and what the neighbour has or needs to do is not their concern.

It sounds like you can't maintain your gutter now without using the neighbours land.

An objection has to be on planning issues not that you won't be able to clean your gutters.

 

[BlackSpot]

Because the space is 4.5m deep it's going to be very hard to keep it clear of debris. Shouldn't they be worried about breaches to their DPC?

 

[johnny2007]

You'll both end up with damp walls.
That tiny gap will almost immediately fill with plastic and leaves and water will be sucked by the walls above dpc.
Seen this many, many times.
It would be better if you lost a bit of your land and let them use your extension wall as a party wall.
That way it would become an internal wall with practically zero chance of dampness.
Then to connect the 2 roofs would be a matter for a good roofer, extremely rare these days.

 

[Tigercubrider]

It seems that you built up to 4-6" of your boundary?
That's your problem.
They presumably have a plan for their gutters?

 

[BlackSpot]

Their plan is a flat roof with no side gutters.

 

[BlackSpot]

You'll both end up with damp walls.
That tiny gap will almost immediately fill with plastic and leaves and water will be sucked by the walls above dpc.
Seen this many, many times.
It would be better if you lost a bit of your land and let them use your extension wall as a party wall.
That way it would become an internal wall with practically zero chance of dampness.
Then to connect the 2 roofs would be a matter for a good roofer, extremely rare these days.

That's my concern, but they haven't even bothered to talk to me. My extension is just a few months old, and I really didn't want it messed with.

 

[^woody^]

Because the space is 4.5m deep it's going to be very hard to keep it clear of debris. Shouldn't they be worried about breaches to their DPC?

No. I see this mentioned frequently here and other places and the reality is that itdoesn't happen. What amount of debris does a garden get exactly?

And no, no damp problems either. Why should there be?

 

[johnny2007]

Look between extensions with a tiny gap.
Lots of plastic wrappers and leaves.
I am constantly removing them from the 6 inch gap between my garden wall and shed and we don't chuck rubbish in the garden, the wind takes care of that.
Op, speak to your neighbour, it will be a problem for both of you.

 

[cdbe]

You can object to the extension on the grounds that it will affect your amenity (not your gutters) and the council will almost certainly reject it (they can't stop this type of extension themselves but will jump on the chance to do so if you object, especially if they don't like long extensions). I'm not suggesting that you object, but use this as a bargaining chip by making it very clear that if you do object (on the correct grounds) it will almost certainly be refused, to ensure your concern is addressed.

Presumably you have received notification from the council planning department, this will give you a window to object.

 

[^woody^]

Lots of plastic wrappers and leaves.

Where the hell do all those plastic wrappers come from? I've not seen a single plastic wrapper in my garden since 1985.

As for leaves, it's not like the gap is some sort of gravity well that sucks in all leaves from the whole street. Complete myth.

 

[^woody^]

You can object to the extension on the grounds that it will affect your amenity (not your gutters) and the council will almost certainly reject it (they can't stop this type of extension themselves but will jump on the chance to do so if you object, especially if they don't like long extensions). I'm not suggesting that you object, but use this as a bargaining chip by making it very clear that if you do object (on the correct grounds) it will almost certainly be refused, to ensure your concern is addressed.

Presumably you have received notification from the council planning department, this will give you a window to object.

No council will "jump at the chance" to refuse an application based on some neighbour's personal opinion and then risk being criticised and overturned by the inspectorate.

 

[wessex101]

You can object to the extension on the grounds that it will affect your amenity (not your gutters) and the council will almost certainly reject it (they can't stop this type of extension themselves but will jump on the chance to do so if you object, especially if they don't like long extensions). I'm not suggesting that you object, but use this as a bargaining chip by making it very clear that if you do object (on the correct grounds) it will almost certainly be refused, to ensure your concern is addressed.

Presumably you have received notification from the council planning department, this will give you a window to object.

Ordinarily I would agree 100%. However in this case the OP already has a 4.5m deep extension so the neighbours proposed extension will only project 1.5m. I would be very surprised if they found any loss of amenity for 1.5m.

I will never understand why people who live in terraced houses insist on leaving a gap to the boundary when they build an extension. The house doesn't have a gap so why do they think the extension should? I think the designers are mostly to blame, they either don't know or can't be bothered to advise the client on the benefits of a new party wall or having the wall up to the line of junction (boundary).

 

[BlackSpot]

Well the council insisted we had a pitched roof and not a flat one, which meant we needed gutters on the sides and we didn't want to encroach on our old neighbour's land. Also meant we didn't end up with the soil pipe inside.

I'll try to catch the new owner when he makes one of his fleeting visits. I'm not against an extension, even a 6m one, just not this design. I think it's foul of the 45° rule as well.

 

[^woody^]

Well the council insisted we had a pitched roof and not a flat one, which meant we needed gutters on the sides

Why not inset gutters? Couldn't your designer design?

Or just a parapet wall?