Ok, my neighbour applied for planning to build a massive extension which we objected against and it was refused.
They are now wanting to build a 3m extension which I understand they don’t need to apply for planning for. However they want to build it right up against my boundary and it would affect the use of our house.

Where they want to build it would be right up against our house. Do they have to have to send us a party wall notice or something?

The wall they are going to build up against has the flue for our balanced flue gas fire – does this affect things??

I just need any sort of ammo to try and stop them building the extension as it will affect the value of our house for sure and we want to move soon.

They are very unreasonable so it’s been difficult to speak to them even though I’ve been nice.

I can do a diagram later if needed.

They still need to go for permitted development, though you won’t be consulted on this. As you mention, they will need to serve a party wall notice on you, this will give you the chance to ensure you are not unduly affected and it sounds like you will be going down the route of needing a party wall surveyor to review on your behalf.

You still have a right to light, though the law on this is a bit wooly as I understand it so the LA may decline PD, also PD is limited in conservation areas.

This is stuff I’ve gathered off the internet so not gospel as I’m looking at undertaking PD extension myself.

It could be that the size of earlier extension means they are right up to the limit of what is allowed on that plot. Vaguely remember something about no more than 50% over and above the original house size in total.

Diagram

Is your extra bit part of the original house, or an extension? A normal semi would be the same…if yours is an extension I imagine you have to accept that they have the same rights?

Is agreeing with sc-xc

And why do you think someone building an extension will effect the value of your property? People build extensions all the time – I say you relax a little, be calm and reasonable but just point out to them about the balanced flue and ask what they will do to resolve that issue.

Looks like they’re not touching your house assuming they’re just off the centre line for their new wall (like you’ve done)

Is there any maintenance you need to do in that thin gap to your flue? Might be worth shifting it

Going by that drawing something odd is going on with your boundary.
The fence “should” be along the centre line.
Its looks like he is staying the 0.5m away from your boundary to not need a Party Wall Agreement.
As your extension has done previously.

As someone attempting to get planning for a fairly major extension, I don’t believe an objection simply based on ‘I don’t like it and I’m trying to sell my house’ carries much credence.

I thought that permitted development was over 1m from the boundary. If it’s using the party wall doesn’t that require planning no matter how big it is?
Have a look at the http://www.planningportal.gov.uk

You’ve missed an apostrophe from “neighbour’s”.

Have you got a window to the front next to that fence?

Heard of a builder who put a flu through into neighbours garden space, came home from work and found flu smashed to bits on his front lawn when he went into house, expanding foam had been squirted into flu opening destroying boiler, neighbour didnt want it steaming into his garden .

Jambo – yes I know that, it’s just a bit of extra info. The council refused their original planning app because of my objection. I know a little bit about planning through my job but the party wall thing is a bit more complex.

They are very unreasonable.

Yeah, I bet.

antimony, no you can extend along the boundary under PD, just double checked!

If your sketch is to scale then they may be over the 50% rule, though I’m not sure you’ve got too much to complain about.

They will have to notify Building control who will then tell them what they can or cannot do.

I thought that permitted development was over 1m from the boundary

Might be different up here but nope, I built within the guidelines on the boundary.

OP – hate to say it but it does sound like you’re being unreasonable on the face of it. Unless his extension is blocking light (windows) or access to your flue (which shouldn’t be allowed) then I’d say you have no reasonable grounds to complain.

And on party walls, I believe that only covers the party wall itself and not outside boundaries? Again, I never had one of those to deal with.

As for smashing a flue and blocking the outlet, that would have been hilarious had he ended up killing the occupants. Some people are just ****.

Why’d you object the first one? Just ‘cos NIMBY or did you have a proper reason? Are you objecting to this one because they’d have a bigger house than you?

Hammyuk – the fence isn’t on the centreline. We are terraced house and they have the corridor between the houses on their land. It is a bit weird Tbh and hard to show in a quick drawing.

The main issue is that they want to build straight up to our boundary but the party wall act says something about a notice if their wall is within 3m of ours – they have to instruct a party wall solicitor or surveyor to check that when they dig for foundations or something it won’t affect our building. Not too sure how it pans out in practice.

We can’t move the flue as there isn’t anywhere else to put the fireplace that’s inside the house! The balanced flue bit sticks straight out of the back of the fire in our case.

“access to your flue (which shouldn’t be allowed) “

Irellevent the flue shouldnt be there . Should be 600mm from the boundary line not to mention it sticking out into his land ….

It all smells a bit nimby….. I mean you got your extension…

Glasgowdan – what do you mean by that?

I am just making sure that they follow the rules. If they do everything right and they are allowed to build it in fine with that, but their attitude has been that “we can build what we like and we don’t care about you”. The new occupant never even spoke to us before they applied for the PP and the first app I objected to was refused for good reason – it was a plan to build something absolutely huge which would have made our garden completely overshadowed by a 4m high extension and it was completely out of proportion with other developments on the street.

The new occupant has been quite nasty with me when I first greeted them with insults thrown my way even though I was really nice to them.
You’ll have to trust me on this one but when they have spoken about “their builders” they sound a bit sketchy. I’d rather put the legwork in now and make sure it is done properly rather than try to deal with a nightmare later.

We’ve got a case going on at the moment re a flue discharging onto someone else’s land – its all getting very messy!

Their house is different to ours as its wider and it already has a 2 storey extension on it AND the little one they are planning to knock down and replace with the bigger one.

Both houses were 1 up 1 downs and have been extended in the distant past to double their size. Their new proposal is in addition to those original extensions.

“access to your flue (which shouldn’t be allowed) “

Irellevent the flue shouldnt be there . Should be 600mm from the boundary line not to mention it sticking out into his land ….

Sorry, I meant blocking the access shouldn’t be allowed.

EDIT:Ah, Party Wall Act doesn’t apply in Scotland or NI

Google the party wall act, it’s all explained in there.
Best advice I can think of is try and make peace as the building process isn’t fun for either party and I suspect they’ll be within their rights to extend.

Their new proposal is in addition to those original extensions.

There is a time limit when an extension becomes ‘incorporated’ into the house and is no longer classed as an extension as such – I *THINK* it might be seven years but happy to be corrected.

What i mean is that these situations are almost always more complex and balanced than the one sided story we get on Internet forums.

An extension is a big decision that affects people’s lives, gives them room to enjoy their time at home and invest their money and I’ve seen sad cases where neighbours have made months or years of misery for someone because they don’t want them to get their dream!

Sounds like they may be pushing beyond the allowance for 50%, the three metre rule is from the back of the original house, not an extension that has been built, otherwise you could just keep putting in applications to extend off the back of an extension.
Also check how much of the garden is taken up.

Johndoh, is that true? I thought it was based on a date, 1948 springs to mind, obviously buildings post this date are as per the original plans.

I think it has to be a little give and take.

Is your flue discharging straight into the neighbours garden? If I was them I wouldnt like that tbh.

1. You have no right to discharge your flue over their land
2. Their foundations are very likely to be deeper than yours so they will need to serve a Notice of Adjacent Excavation on you under the Party Wall etc Act 1996. You can then appoint a Surveyor to act for you at their cost

End of discussion.

Johndoh, is that true? I thought it was based on a date, 1948 springs to mind, obviously buildings post this date are as per the original plans.

Possibly – I heard of this quite recently when a neighbour of the in-laws built on to existing extensions so I don’t know of the full details – as I said, I would happily stand corrected.

Is the original terrace only about 3 to 4m front to back, or is that not drawn to scale properly?

Looks like it falls foul of 50% to me.

EDIT: And I don’t see how that can fall under permitted development – I think the 3 metre figure is 3 square metres rather than 3×3, if you see what I mean.

Where you based Op? Some wild advice being thrown around without all the facts, you also sound worked up about it by your reaction to Glasgowdan. This may not be the best place to seek solace!

Tell us where you live, as the party wall act may not even apply.

Have you a building warrant for your flue discharging over the boundary? I doubt it, but you never know.

How do you think it’s going to affect the value of your property?

On what grounds do you think you can still object? And have you spoken to the planners, and I mean spoken, in person? It would probably help you a great deal to understand exactly what they are entitled to do on their property. What you consider unreasonable may be entirely reasonable?

Good luck getting it sorted.

What was your original objection?
Is this in the ashton area of bristol by any chance?

50% rule….how can you tell this from that drawing….does it show the size of the garden ?

Also, if any house sale goes through, you may fall foul of “Are you in dispute with your neighbour” questions — we nearly cam to grief on that with a boundary / shared wall that neighbour knocked down on the morning of first viewings. Not happy.

I’m in Yorkshire.

Yeah I know about the dispute thing, I’m trying to be amicable, they did apologise after the first conversation but we aren’t exactly best buddies. 😉

I could only object to their first proposal that it would be unduly dominating on our property and it wasn’t in keeping with other developments in the area. I had no right to object due to light being cut out or the effect on the value of our house so I didn’t mention those points – but that doesn’t mean it won’t have those effects!

I can’t object to this new idea as I think it’s permitted development BUT may fall foul of the 50% rule – I’ll have to do some measurements. I have no idea when the first extension was built – it wasn’t in the last 50 years as we have a neighbour who has been here that long but it could easily be after the 1948 cutoff – I don’t know how to find out when that was built.

Don’t put too much store in the 1948 date, just a vague recollection from looking into this for my own purposes, whatever the rule was it didn’t apply in my case so it’s no longer lodged in my head 😉
Your deeds should have plans of your original building plans, might be worth trawling through them.
Best bet is look on the planning portal for permitted development, the guides are pretty clear. Have a review of the party wall act.