Nothing is more frustrating for homeowners who wish to build an extension on their property only to discover that their planning permission has been refused. There are many reasons why planning may not be granted and one of those is an appeal from one or more of your fellow residents. Dino Tomassetti has spent a career in this field and he knows only too well just how easy it is for a planning application to be rejected, and the frustration that this may cause. As much as we may be frustrated at our neighbors, there is often a good reason as to why they have appealed the application, and here are some examples.
Table of Contents
Blocking of View or Sunlight
This is by far and away one of the most common reasons that applications get rejected, the blocking of someone’s view or the restriction of natural light that the new structure will cause. This really does stand to reason, after all just imagine if your back garden was now going to received sunlight for less time of the day simply because someone wishes to have more space on their property. This is certainly cause for blocking and appealing an application for planning.
Noise Pollution
When people apply for planning permission they must describe how long the construction is anticipated to take. This of course is going to be another important factor in the considerations of fellow residents. The main concern here is the rise that a building creates and the longer that the project looks like it will take, the more concerns there are around the level of noise which will be produced.
Disruption
It is not just the noise that is going to cause many residents problems but also the disruption which will take place during the build. Depending on the size of the project residents may find themselves dealing with large vehicles blocking their path, dust and grit gathering on the streets or even on their property and general upheaval which is taking place through something which in reality has absolutely nothing to do with them. It is essential that these people have their freedoms respected and that is why we so often see these issues get appealed.
Respecting the Identity
The doesn’t happen too often but there are some neighborhoods which have been built in the same way for many years and they are very sensitive about any other building which may not fit in with what they want their neighborhood to look like. In most cases these are taken quite seriously by the planning committee and that is because they too are signed up to maintain the identity of the place, indeed this is why we have building code and laws in the first place.
As you can see, those who complain or appeal are not doing so out of malice, but rather because they feel that their freedoms and their choices are being encroached upon .