Can neighbour add a window AFTER planning has been approved?
Discussion
House next door applied for an extension a while ago (didnt like the idea but not enough to challenge it) He has now started and a window has appeared where there wasnt one on the plan!
Few questions... if he's re-applied for this change would it not be shown on the council site (it only shows his original plans there)
Can he expect to do that without an inspector saying "is that hole going to be a window"
Can i stop him?
The extension is above a garage so the 1st floor is now much closer to our bathroom window (before our window looked over his garage to the side of his house (with no window) So we now have a wall a couple of m's away (where before it was about 6m away) and a window that can see into our frosted bathroom window.
Will call the planning ppl in the am but curious if he can just assume he'll get away with it???
Few questions... if he's re-applied for this change would it not be shown on the council site (it only shows his original plans there)
Can he expect to do that without an inspector saying "is that hole going to be a window"
Can i stop him?
The extension is above a garage so the 1st floor is now much closer to our bathroom window (before our window looked over his garage to the side of his house (with no window) So we now have a wall a couple of m's away (where before it was about 6m away) and a window that can see into our frosted bathroom window.
Will call the planning ppl in the am but curious if he can just assume he'll get away with it???
If the plans haven't been amended and the window is going in the consented structure, then technically no, he can't just change it to add a window without first getting the consent of the Authority.
The Local Planning Authority has no legal ability to accept such an amendment post decision, without him going for a new application. However, it is worth noting that, dependent on each Authority's working practices, where a change is considered minor, the Authority may exercise discretion and allow such amendments, on the basis that although not technically authorised, they are effectively so insignificant that they do not warrant reconsideration of the whole scheme. Additional windows aren't usually considered as fitting into this category, given the obvious potential for loss of privacy etc, unles the house is in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbours.
If the window is going into the original house, he may not require permission for it, depending on height and location.
My advice is to get the Planning Authority on the case, they'll send an officer out to have a look. If your Authority work anything like my local, the building control inspector won't be necessarily aware of the approved planning drawings, as he/she is operating for different reasons, and therefore won't necessarily realise the window shouldn't be there.
The Local Planning Authority has no legal ability to accept such an amendment post decision, without him going for a new application. However, it is worth noting that, dependent on each Authority's working practices, where a change is considered minor, the Authority may exercise discretion and allow such amendments, on the basis that although not technically authorised, they are effectively so insignificant that they do not warrant reconsideration of the whole scheme. Additional windows aren't usually considered as fitting into this category, given the obvious potential for loss of privacy etc, unles the house is in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbours.
If the window is going into the original house, he may not require permission for it, depending on height and location.
My advice is to get the Planning Authority on the case, they'll send an officer out to have a look. If your Authority work anything like my local, the building control inspector won't be necessarily aware of the approved planning drawings, as he/she is operating for different reasons, and therefore won't necessarily realise the window shouldn't be there.
Have a look online at his approval ,
I suspoect the planners put a condition in it to say that no further openings are to be formed at first floor level without the councils written approval.
In the end , they will require it to be a frosted window and probably with a top opener only .
What is the room the window serves and how far is it from the boundary ?
I suspoect the planners put a condition in it to say that no further openings are to be formed at first floor level without the councils written approval.
In the end , they will require it to be a frosted window and probably with a top opener only .
What is the room the window serves and how far is it from the boundary ?
Edited by Busamav on Wednesday 7th October 08:34
They may be forced to add a frost to the window - but not bother.
New house next door to me had a requirement for all windows facing my garden to be frosted. They are not, and when challenged it appears they are claiming the work is not finished - hence the frosting not being in place.
Problem is all the flats are now rented out and have been for over a year....
New house next door to me had a requirement for all windows facing my garden to be frosted. They are not, and when challenged it appears they are claiming the work is not finished - hence the frosting not being in place.
Problem is all the flats are now rented out and have been for over a year....
Tiggsy said:
a bedroom and 1m
I assume it is a secondary window to the room , planning may not be happy to allow this wondow as an amendment to the existing approval.I would just speak politely with the case officer for the application first off , then if no joy , speak with the enforcement guy , they will have such a department.
If it is even a tad below the 1m from the boundary , and more than 1m2 in area , then they will be required to make it a fixed 1/2 hr fire resistant frame and glazing under building regs .
Could he have done a secondary application?
Our neighbours got permission for a full height extension to add a dining room and en-suite to their place. They wanted a window in the dining room that faced north - towards open fields - it was refused but they were allowed to put in a fake window (i.e. cill, surround, but bricked up & painted to look like panes of glass).
6 months later they apply to put a window in there "yes, no problem" WTF?! Why the planners said no in the first place still baffles us all - it overlooked no-one and can't be seen from the road due to their hedge!
The way of the planner is such that normal man understands it not (and don't get me going on their tree "experts")
Our neighbours got permission for a full height extension to add a dining room and en-suite to their place. They wanted a window in the dining room that faced north - towards open fields - it was refused but they were allowed to put in a fake window (i.e. cill, surround, but bricked up & painted to look like panes of glass).
6 months later they apply to put a window in there "yes, no problem" WTF?! Why the planners said no in the first place still baffles us all - it overlooked no-one and can't be seen from the road due to their hedge!
The way of the planner is such that normal man understands it not (and don't get me going on their tree "experts")
Tiggsy said:
planning officer calling me back soon!
Concerns about the overlooking into your bathroom window and potential loss of privacy are your main points .Have they altereed the internal layout in the preocess of needing this window ?
Will it be possible for them to see your patio/ garden from that window , if so it is another point to raise , loss of privacy is your grief.
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