How to Object to a Neighbour's Planning Application in London: A Homeowner's Guide

PLANNING DECISIONS ARE MADE BASED ON \"MATERIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS\" — A LEGALLY DEFINED SET OF FACTORS THAT PLANNING OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES MUST CONSIDER. ONLY OBJECTIONS THAT RELATE TO MATERIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS WILL INFLUENCE THE DECISION:

VALID MATERIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS: - IMPACT ON RESIDENTIAL AMENITY (THE MOST RELEVANT FOR NEIGHBOURING TERRACES): * LOSS OF DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT (BRE DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT GUIDANCE — MEASURED BY THE VERTICAL SKY COMPONENT AND DAYLIGHT DISTRIBUTION TESTS) * LOSS OF OUTLOOK (THE PROPOSED EXTENSION CREATES AN OVERBEARING EFFECT OR BLOCKS VIEWS) * LOSS OF PRIVACY / OVERLOOKING (NEW WINDOWS OR ROOF TERRACES OVERLOOKING YOUR GARDEN OR HABITABLE ROOMS) * NOISE AND VIBRATION DURING CONSTRUCTION (FOR TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS) * NOISE FROM THE FINISHED DEVELOPMENT IF IT IS COMMERCIAL OR MIXED-USE

- DESIGN AND APPEARANCE: * WHETHER THE PROPOSED EXTENSION IS IN KEEPING WITH THE CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE OF THE CONSERVATION AREA OR STREETSCENE * WHETHER THE SCALE, MASSING, OR MATERIALS ARE APPROPRIATE

- HIGHWAYS AND PARKING: * INCREASE IN ON-STREET PARKING PRESSURE (ADDITIONAL UNITS OR ADDITIONAL BEDROOMS) * IMPACT ON SIGHT LINES OR HIGHWAY SAFETY (RELEVANT FOR FRONT GARDEN ALTERATIONS OR VEHICLE CROSSOVERS)

- ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY: * IMPACT ON PROTECTED SPECIES (BATS — PARTICULARLY RELEVANT IN OLDER LONDON PROPERTIES; BIRDS NESTING IN EAVES) * LOSS OF TREES (PROTECTED BY TPO OR IN A CONSERVATION AREA)

WHAT DOES NOT COUNT AS A VALID OBJECTION: - IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES (PLANNING POLICY DOES NOT PROTECT PROPERTY VALUES) - PERSONAL DISLIKE OF THE DESIGN OR COLOUR - LOSS OF A VIEW (AS DISTINCT FROM LOSS OF OUTLOOK — THE DIFFERENCE IS TECHNICAL BUT IMPORTANT) - POTENTIAL REDUCTION IN QUALITY OF LIFE NOT SUPPORTED BY PLANNING EVIDENCE - NEIGHBOUR DISPUTES, BOUNDARY DISPUTES, OR PARTY WALL ISSUES (THESE ARE CIVIL LAW MATTERS — NOT PLANNING MATTERS) - \"SETTING A PRECEDENT\" ALONE (PLANNING IS DECIDED CASE-BY-CASE)

THE PLANNING PROCESS IS PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENT — ALL REPRESENTATIONS ARE VIEWABLE ON THE PLANNING PORTAL:

STEP 1: FIND THE APPLICATION. ALL PLANNING APPLICATIONS IN LONDON ARE PUBLISHED ON THE BOROUGH\'S ONLINE PLANNING PORTAL. SEARCH BY ADDRESS, APPLICATION NUMBER, OR POSTCODE. APPLICATIONS INCLUDE ALL SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS — PLANS, DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT, HERITAGE STATEMENT, TREE REPORTS.

STEP 2: REVIEW THE DOCUMENTS CRITICALLY. THE SUBMITTED PLANS SHOW WHAT IS PROPOSED. CHECK: - THE ACCURATE DIMENSIONS (DOES THE PROPOSAL MATCH THE PD LIMITS OR EXCEED THEM?) - HOW CLOSE THE NEW WINDOWS ARE TO YOUR PROPERTY - WHETHER THE EXTENSION BLOCKS YOUR MAIN HABITABLE ROOM WINDOWS - WHETHER THE SHADOW DIAGRAM (IF ANY IS SUBMITTED) ACCURATELY REPRESENTS THE IMPACT - WHETHER THERE ARE ROOF LIGHTS OR TERRACES THAT COULD OVERLOOK YOUR GARDEN

STEP 3: WRITE YOUR OBJECTION. OBJECTIONS SHOULD BE: - FACTUAL AND EVIDENCE-BASED — NOT EMOTIONAL - FOCUSED ON MATERIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS (SEE ABOVE) - SPECIFIC ABOUT WHICH WINDOWS, ROOMS, OR AREAS ARE AFFECTED - REFERENCED TO ADOPTED PLANNING POLICY (LONDON PLAN POLICIES, LOCAL PLAN POLICIES) WHERE POSSIBLE USE THE BOROUGH\'S ONLINE PLANNING PORTAL TO SUBMIT YOUR OBJECTION IN WRITING. THE PERIOD FOR REPRESENTATIONS IS TYPICALLY 21 DAYS FROM NOTIFICATION — CHECK THE CONSULTATION DEADLINE.

STEP 4: ATTEND THE PLANNING COMMITTEE (IF THE APPLICATION GOES TO COMMITTEE). DELEGATED DECISIONS (MADE BY THE PLANNING OFFICER, NOT THE COMMITTEE): MOST HOUSEHOLDER APPLICATIONS IN LONDON ARE DETERMINED UNDER DELEGATED POWERS. REPRESENTATIONS ARE CONSIDERED BUT OBJECTORS CANNOT SPEAK AT A DELEGATED DECISION. PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISIONS: LARGER OR MORE COMPLEX APPLICATIONS MAY GO TO COMMITTEE — OBJECTORS ARE USUALLY ENTITLED TO SPEAK FOR 3 MINUTES.

STEP 5: IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE DECISION. GRANTED (APPLICATION APPROVED AGAINST YOUR OBJECTIONS): YOU CANNOT APPEAL A GRANT OF PLANNING PERMISSION (ONLY THE APPLICANT CAN APPEAL A REFUSAL). YOUR REMAINING OPTIONS: CHALLENGE THE DECISION BY JUDICIAL REVIEW (RARE, EXPENSIVE — ONLY FOR PROCEDURAL ERRORS OR ILLEGALITY, NOT SIMPLE DISAGREEMENT WITH THE MERITS); OR ACCEPT THE DECISION AND FOCUS ON PARTY WALL AND BUILDING REGULATIONS PROTECTIONS. REFUSED (APPLICATION REFUSED): THE APPLICANT MAY APPEAL TO THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE — YOU CAN MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO THE INSPECTOR IN AN APPEAL.

LOSS OF DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT IS THE MOST COMMONLY CITED MATERIAL PLANNING CONCERN IN LONDON VICTORIAN TERRACE EXTENSION OBJECTIONS — AND IT IS ASSESSED AGAINST THE BRE DOCUMENT \"SITE LAYOUT PLANNING FOR DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT: A GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE\".

THE BRE GUIDE (2022 EDITION) ESTABLISHES THE FOLLOWING KEY TESTS:

VERTICAL SKY COMPONENT (VSC) — DAYLIGHT TO WINDOWS: THE VSC IS THE PROPORTION OF THE SKY VISIBLE FROM THE CENTRE OF A WINDOW. A VSC BELOW 27% REPRESENTS A LOW LEVEL OF DAYLIGHT (BRE GUIDANCE). IF AN EXISTING WINDOW ALREADY HAS LOW VSC AND THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT REDUCES IT BY MORE THAN 20%, THIS IS CONSIDERED MATERIAL (ESPECIALLY IF THE ROOM IS A MAIN HABITABLE ROOM).

DAYLIGHT DISTRIBUTION (AREA RECEIVING ADEQUATE DAYLIGHT): THE BRE METHOD ALSO EXAMINES WHAT PROPORTION OF THE FLOOR AREA OF A ROOM RECEIVES ADEQUATE DAYLIGHT (AT LEAST 2% DAYLIGHT FACTOR). IF LESS THAN 80% OF A ROOM\'S FLOOR AREA RECEIVES THIS LEVEL AFTER DEVELOPMENT, THE IMPACT IS CONSIDERED MATERIAL.

SUNLIGHT (ANNUAL PROBABLE SUNLIGHT HOURS — APSH): FOR MAIN LIVING ROOMS WITH SOUTH, EAST, OR WEST-FACING WINDOWS, THE BRE STANDARD EXPECTS AT LEAST 25% OF ANNUAL PROBABLE SUNLIGHT HOURS (APSH), INCLUDING AT LEAST 5% IN WINTER.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR NEIGHBOURING TERRACES: A SINGLE-STOREY REAR EXTENSION OF 4.0-6.0M AT GROUND LEVEL TYPICALLY DOES NOT FAIL BRE TESTS FOR FIRST-FLOOR HABITABLE ROOMS IN AN ADJACENT TERRACE — THE EXTENSION IS LOW AND THE NEIGHBOURING ROOMS ARE ABOVE IT. IMPACT IS MORE LIKELY WHERE: - THE NEIGHBOUR PROPOSES A DOUBLE-STOREY EXTENSION (MORE LIKELY TO BLOCK FIRST-FLOOR WINDOWS) - THE APPLICANT\'S HOUSE IS SOUTH OF THE OBJECTOR\'S PROPERTY (THE EXTENSION BLOCKS SOUTHERN SKY) - THE OBJECTOR HAS EXISTING BASEMENT ROOMS OR GROUND FLOOR ROOMS WITH WINDOWS CLOSE TO THE EXTENSION

COMMISSIONING A DAYLIGHT REPORT: IF YOU BELIEVE LOSS OF DAYLIGHT IS A SERIOUS CONCERN, CONSIDER COMMISSIONING YOUR OWN DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT ASSESSMENT FROM AN ACCREDITED CONSULTANT (COST: £800-2,000) TO SUBMIT WITH YOUR OBJECTION. THIS IS PARTICULARLY WORTH DOING FOR LARGER OR TALLER DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS.