Prior Approval Application 6 Metre ground floor extension Rejected due to neighbour's light concern

[Bigtey]

I applied for a prior approval for a 6 metre extension on the ground floor in our mid terraced home with a pitched roof and the neighbours agreed initially but one of them expressed concern about the light to their ground floor kitchen window. The other neighbour has no problems as his extension is larger than the one I planned. The council refused the prior approval citing that light will be reduced to the concerned neighbour. There were no planning officers involved as it was prior approval application. Any suggestions on next steps?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Did you or your agent not bother negotiating with the planners during the application process?

 

[Bigtey]

We did and there was no indication that there was any problems as its within permitted development and the neighbour in question said he was concerned about light but had no objection in the extension being built

 

[sxturbo]

Could render the wall and paint it white to reflect light into neighbours window

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

We did and there was no indication that there was any problems as its within permitted development and the neighbour in question said he was concerned about light but had no objection in the extension being built

If it was permitted development then a) why did you apply for planning permission and b) how could something that is PD be refused?

 

[^woody^]

Alter the design
Build what you can under PD, and then apply for the rest if it can be built and meet the council's planning policies

Apply again for the prior approval and tell all the neighbours not to respond!

 

[jeds]

If it was permitted development then a) why did you apply for planning permission and b) how could something that is PD be refused?

My guess is that it is a 'larger' PD extension application (prior notification) which is only permitted if there are no objections. If neighbour objects then LPA treats it much as they would a planning application and will take light and 45° into consideration.

 

[johnny2007]

If it was permitted development then a) why did you apply for planning permission and b) how could something that is PD be refused?

Exactly.
Permitted development doesn't need planning permission.
You should've served a party wall notice to your neighbour if applicable, fill the form and pay the fees to building control and start building.

 

[Nakajo]

Exactly.

No.

 

[johnny2007]

No.

You either build under permitted development without the need to ask for planning permission or you build under planning permission because your project is not within the permitted development.
There's no such thing as permitted development which needs planning permission, otherwise it's not a permitted development.
In any case you need to notify and pay building control.
Planning and building control are 2 different departments, 2 different things.

 

[jeds]

johnny, there is no such thing as straightforward PD for a 6m extension. PD allows extension up to 3m or 4m maximum. There is a procedure for what are know as 'larger' PD extensions, which are those that can be double the normal allowance - i.e. 6m for a semi or terraced house and 8m for a detached house. The fact that the OP refers to 6m tells us it is a larger extension on a semi or terrace. The procedure is you submit a prior notification to the LPA. If there are no objections then you can proceed. If there is an objection then the LPA can take other matters into consideration - such as light and overbearing etc. - and can refuse the notification.

 

[Bigtey]

The update now is that the prior approval under the neighbour consultation scheme was refused as a neighbour expressed concerns regarding light to their kitchen area. what are the chances of it being approved under planning permission if i apply for one?

 

[jeds]

Highly unlikely you'll get 6m. Even 4.5m might be a bit ambitious, but you could start there and try to negotiate.

 

[Nakajo]

If you can, go and talk to your neighbour about their concerns. If their concerns are valid (seems unlikely), then modify/splay the design such that it won't impact on the neighbour's light. This has a better chance of success than the PP route.

 

[Bigtey]

Thanks, I offered to change the design and reduce the size to 5M, but he doesnt seem interested stating that he would be happy with 4 metres as he thinks his property price will go down especially as he has plans to sell his house soon