OP, is the property in a conservation area?
Looking at the window in the extension I don’t think I’d be too keen on having them as neighbours… too high a risk of conflict in days / months / years to come
Walk away and find another to buy
If they got arsey I’d just build the highest permissable deck then take up naked outdoor snooker.
That's a whopping 30cm height unfortunately. Maybe naked snooker on stilts?
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/decking/planning-permission
Oh and the obscure glass rule generally applies to upper storey windows on side elevations, not ground floor.
That’s a whopping 30cm height unfortunately. Maybe naked snooker on stilts?
naked gym TRX might be a good substitute.
Looking at the window in the extension I don’t think I’d be too keen on having them as neighbours… too high a risk of conflict in days / months / years to come
Walk away and find another to buy
This 100%.
Assuming they are the people who built the extension - this doesn't pass the dick/idiot test. Whether they are either idiots or dicks, they are clearly hugely inconsiderate. Why on earth would somebody think it's acceptable to put a window there?!?!
Even without an extension, first thing you would be doing is either asking them to remove/obscure it, or putting up a fence/hedge directly in front of it with the express purpose of blocking it. This is going to put you in conflict with them from Day 1. In their eyes, you will be unreasonable one..... after all: if they understood why the window was problematic, they wouldn't have put it there in the first place.
I'm a bit triggered by this as I have a neighbor who's hobby is trying (and usually succeeding) in causing conflict between herself and her various neighbors. She has mental health issues - but she's also an extremely nasty and vindictive person. The sorts of things she's done would blow your mind. This sort of red-flag would have me running for the hills.
I used to own a house with this exact set up, with the neighbour having newish brickwalled conservatory with a window just like that. It was built about 100mm back from the boundary. Our garden was about 50cm above theirs. It was a pisstake and built when our house was rented so presumably they got away with it.
The problem was if I wanted to build something the same there would be an inaccessible gap between the buildings, and I would have to modify the foundation for their conservatory. But because it was slightly stepped in on their side there was no possibility of extending the party wall and making a tidy looking thing. So really the only feasible thing would be to step in a lot more on my side which would render any extension less useful. I discounted it before I bought the house.
The neighbours were generally pretty cool but the conservatory was very definitely their most precious room. To be fair it was a really smart thing with wood burner, music set up etc. Once I got to know them I'm pretty sure if we interfered with that it would have been a declaration of war.
If the house is only good to you with an extension on boundary I'd be careful. Life is too short to fight with your neighbours and that has conflict written all over it. Either that or buy it, have the conversation and then decide where to plant you leylandii and bamboo hedge.
What you could do if you buy, is build your extension over the boundary to meet next door, and put the dividing wall in line with the boundary, so next door get a slightly larger room, once they knock down the existing wall. This would also tidy up the guttering.
Obviously you would need to agree this first which may be difficult before you buy it.
Walk swiftly away.
If the house is only good to you with an extension on boundary I’d be careful. Life is too short to fight with your neighbours
This is good advice. If you're still keen, an attitude test disguised as a friendly chat is a worthwhile exercise. I'd probably mention the need for a higher fence at that point for privacy - if they start munching their gums at that, you know what you're in for.
I'd go and knock on and discuss the plans with them. Sound them out.
You could offer to have your builder install a larger skylight as compensation.
A chat with the potential new neighbours before purchasing would seem like a great plan.
I’d probably err on the side of being totally up front- say that you’re considering buying next door, and are planning on putting in a very similar extension to theirs, which would mean they lose the side window. You’d rather run this by them now than later. What do they think of this? Their reaction to that should be pretty clear - both what they say and how they react.
Unlike with “real” neighbours don’t worry about the conversation turning sour, as if it does then that tells you that you’re in the process of dodging a bullet. On the other hand if they understand and have no issue (e.g. “yep, the previous owners put that on and we always thought it a bit weird”) then you’re onto a winner.
Buy it, move in, plant 50 metres of Leylandii then sit out the back smoking skunk every evening
The full back catalogue of Phil Collins is on Spotify, to round out @binners plan.
If I'm honest, I'd just discount the house. We have some neighbours like batfink's. My experience is, passive aggressive tactics, like putting that window in purely for the purpose of blocking anything you wanted to do, are right up there for them. I agree its a bit of a red flag.
I'm not really sure how much point there is in a friendly chat.
Most folk don't like being doorstepped at the best of times, even less so by a stranger who may become their neighbour and wants to **** up their extension and wants to know, on the spot, how they'd feel about that. It's kind of an aggressive thing to do, so even if they don't outright tell you beat it there's a fair chance it won't make the impression you want.
Cheers all for the replies, love this place.
Our council planning portal has everything on from 1980 onwards and no note of this wee addition to be seen. I suspect the seller may be wrong on the construction year.
I'm popping over tonight to have a chat with the neighbour to asses their dickish levels. May even bring some pre-emptive frozen sausages if they transpire to be prize throbers.
I’m popping over tonight to have a chat with the neighbour to asses their dickish levels.
I honestly can't see the downside. Anything they do with you giving them a heads-up is only going to turn acrimonious later or they might turn out to be perfectly reasonable. I'd certainly be trying to find out before spending further time and money.
Perhaps not particularly relevant to the larger conversation regarding whether moving there would be a good move or not/neighbour disputes/planning etc, but regarding the location of that window specifically...
It looks quite high up the wall. My sister has a similar window in their living room, which overlooks the side of their garden that wraps round the house. It lets light in, but you really can't see much out of it, as it's too high.
To use it as a lookout to keep an eye on the neighbours, they'd probably have to stand on a step for it to work.
It's probably just a window to help let in light & when viewed from their side, probably doesn't actually provide a clear sight-line onto that patio.
It’s probably just a window to help let in light & when viewed from their side
That would seem more likely than
putting that window in purely for the purpose of blocking anything you wanted to do
If you're lucky they'll be perfectly reasonable and knew from the outset that putting a window there was risky, and that if someone in the future had the same idea as them then they'd have to suck it up.
However, they may be unreasonable and see it as their entitlement as they got there first, and you'll be stuck next to them forever.
I'd chat to them now before doing anything more.
Even if the window falls foul of planning, is that a road you really want to go down with neighbours that will object to your extension because of a window that probably lets in marginal light now?
