Neighbour demolishing bungalow & building 3 storey, 5 - 1 bed flats - Advice...

[Tigercubrider]

People always complain about the “greedy council” yet have no idea what limitations are available to a council to block what is allowed by national law.

 

[jeds]

Planning applications are approved within the law and policy. If law and policy has not been followed the correct route is to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman, or you can launch a judicial review. Of course, sometimes, people complain about planning approvals being not within law/policy when, what they really mean is, they don't like anybody building anything next door to them. Not saying you are in that category but lots of people are. A friend of mine lives on the edge of Taunton, asked me for advice about an 800 plot development on open land across the road from his house. Apart from complaining about traffic and noise, his main complaint was that it looked directly into his bedroom window. Well, I suppose they did technically, if you had a decent pair of binoculars - the nearest house was about 50m away. What he really meant was I've been looking at this open land for 25 years and now I'll be looking at houses.

 

[Nige F]

Sounds a nightmare! Regarding them overlooking your garden. A block of flats in London has just won an appeal to stop people using a viewing platform at the museum, because it means members of the public can see into their bedrooms/living rooms.
I don't know what the long-term solution is going to be in the London case but, maybe if you are losing the light anyway, (which I thought they weren't allowed to do), you could ask the planning committee to insist they put up some form of screening such as tall trees or opaque structure to prevent 'peeping toms'.

If you have access to the plans, it may be worth employing a freelance building inspector to check they have been passed to the correct rules. My FIL had a builder wanting to buy a section of his garden for 3 bungalows but when we checked his planning application he had submitted for only 2 bungalows. This was the application that was passed. We then found out he was trying to buy land from next door with the intention of building a total of 6 bungalows under amendments to the original plans. FIL refused to sell his land so the whole lot was scuppered. Builder not happy but nothing he could do about it.

A M8 of mine did the same years ago - the developer was left with a finger of garden sticking out - all the others had caved in . So developer gave him a parcel of land behind next door - M8 lost about 10 sq. feet in total - and paid off the mortgage .

 

[Mottie]

I dont think the appeal to government is in force anylonger -

And could be quite pointless!
A friend of ours had an empty pub next to her. It was bought by Turks, made into a restaurant, pub/beer garden opening till late with numerous illegal extensions, noise, smell, traffic etc. She and neighbours complained to council who came round and told them to apply retrospectively which they did, Council refused retrospective planning application so the Turks appealed to the government, the appeal was disallowed on every point and now……the council are NOT going to enforce! What a joke - they are now considering their next action.