Room 101

[MAB]

The problem with reducing garden size is that the rain water that once sank into the ground has nowhere to go and causes flooding.  All the houses along my road had huge front gardens and now almost every one has been cemented over to provide space for cars.  The rain simply runs down the street towards a railway bridge where it floods underneath on a regular basis, sometimes so severely the police have to close the road.

 

I know it's another subject by I imagine this rush to build on the green built will result in even more flooding of the sort we saw in the north and Scotland last winter.

[Fonty]

It makes me wonder what the government is doing.  If someone must turn their front garden into a parking space, there are perfectly good permeable surfaces that could be used, and there are some very attractive ones around.  It should be compulsory, not voluntary.  The evidence is there for everyone to see, but nobody in authority has made this very simple move.   

 

Also, I have just checked, and under permitted development rights, extensions "should not exceed 50% of the total area of land around the original house."  That is a huge amount, and completely wrong in my opinion.  If you have a very large garden to start with, you end up with a ground floor that is way out of all proportion to the rest of the house.  If you have a small garden, you end up with a tiny landing strip of decking at the back, which is equally unsightly. 

[porthesia]

LinMM have you actually put in an objection - I would if you haven't as you may got them to alter some of the proposals and it may not encroach upon you quite so much.  If it does go through make sure the builders keep to the plans, height etc. Our neighbours opposite us in our old house objected to our proposed extension when in fact they lived too far away but our extension was cancelled.  We appealed and a representative for the Secretary of State came out and viewed it all, the neighbours had their say (they were actually more aggrieved by the extension to the house next door to them and kept going on about that) and our extension was approved.   It's what we pay these people for and perhaps if it unfortunately does go through you will feel you did everything you could.  We weren't that friendly with the people before all this but we didn't stop speaking to them - just carried on as before.  Good luck

[LinMM]

Originally when we got notification from Brighton and Hove council about this I rang up to ask if someone could come and look at the proposal just in case I was seeing it all wrong and it wouldn't be as bad as it looked. I spoke to the Head of planning but she said they will only come out if someone puts in an objection.

 

I then rang to see who was in charge of the neighbours case and they said the person appointed would be starting on April 11 th but meanwhile we only had till 14th April to make any objection. You are then given some guidelines on what you can and cannot object to.

 

It is very close to our back left boundary and had a very high roof. However the plans were within permitted guidelines on height but just over on length .......otherwise they could have built it without planning permission at all!!

I spent a couple of more or less sleepless nights trying to get the wording on the objection just right......but couldn't help making a plea for our view at the end even though I knew it wasn't permitted!! This is because the height of the roof will be exactly across the bit we look down to the sea through.

I did ask to be informed of any subsequent site visits so I could chat to them etc which the Head of planning suggested.

However I was up in London when the Planners arrived unannounced wanting to take piccies etc but my partner refused to allow them until I was there.....but they did come back a few days later as I was worried they may not.

I did ask what happens if they go over the permitted sizes and they said it would be down to me to keep a eye on things although sometimes spot checks are made but not always. So the onus is now on neighbours etc to inform them!!

In our case he said there could be no appeal if it was granted and two weeks later (last Wednesday) it was granted. They said that although the roof was "imposing" it did not directly block out our light ( some angle of 45 degrees was used when you read through the report) and that they did not agree with us that the use of the new room would create much more noise etc ( well in the summer it will sound as if they are camping out in the garden as chalk is very echo making right in front of our bedroom ) So there it is hard cheese as they say!

The thing is they are a very nice couple and we had only just got to know them feeling pleased initially that they seemed friendly ( the house had been empty for three months) and then all this started and we didn't want to fall out with them so soon. I was also very sad about the hedging that was ripped out as it was very mature had been there for over twenty years before we moved here and of course a great nesting place for birds.

Anyway there isn't anything else we can do now as rules regarding planning permission have been made considerably easier in recent years so we have accepted the situation. The neighbour even said he would look at the idea of a"pond roof" which flattens it at the top but we think now planning has been granted he will just go ahead with original plans. We are speaking but just hope we don't have to get all worked up down the line if things get out of hand with the building!

You do have to laugh though! The other day Mr X said " you've got a lovely lot of birds in you garden we we've just been sitting here admiring them all" Hmmmm!!

Thankyou all for your kind advice sorry this has got a bit long!

[2dancersmum]

An extension added to your neighbours house will most certainly not add to the value of yours, if anything it would detract because of the loss of view from your window. A good view always helps to sell a house - especially much sought after sea views.

 

I too would seek advice or possibly put in an objection.  If they are coming close to the boundary wall, they have in any case to serve you notice of work to be carried out.  Its called The Party Wall Act - and its there because knocking down walls and digging foundations can cause damage to neighbouring properties.  You do need to have the full details of what is being done and where and make sure they follow it.

 

Don't feel guilty about 'ruining their dreams' - you have your own dreams and it is your home.  In any case , putting in an objection does not mean the project cannot go or will not go ahead - just that everything is properly taken into account - and fairly.  A family member did not raise an objection to an extension on his new neighbours house and the new neighbour pushed everything as far as he possibly could - front and back and his house now sits in its neighbours shadow for much of the day.

[2dancersmum]

oops - typing at the same time as you Lin

[Jacqueline]

When exactly, did they rip out the hedge? The RSPB recommends that hedges are not cut or disturbed between March and August due to the nesting season. It is an offence to disturb or destroy an occupied nest. As you say, LinMM, you have to laugh at the irony of the neighbours commenting on the birds in your garden, considering the destruction they have wrought in their own garden. But they could find they have broken the law ripping that hedge out.

[LinMM]

I think we were posting simultaneously 2dancersmum.

 

Yes that did give us a bit of a wry laugh......that his extension would ADD value to OUR property!!

 

Don't think so somehow!!

 

In many ways I am very lucky. From the front windows our view is over to the Downs and our road is one of the highest ones in Saltdean so it's a lovely spacious view. We look sort of down and out onto the Downs.

The garden at the back is higher than the roof of our bungalow so you go up into the back garden. From the two back rooms you can see the sea if you look down to the left but you have to be on the window sill! However once up in the garden there is a lovely view from there .....looking down through the edges of people's gardens to the Saltdean cliff edge and then the bay. This is the view we will largely lose. It's what sold this bungalow to me .....its position.....otherwise nothing special about it really typical 60's built bungalow with very small kitchens by today's standards.

Of course I can fully understand why they want to do what they want to do......as they are immediately below us on the hill they will be internalising that view into their new kitchen/dining room ......I just didnt want it to be at our expense!

In some ways if this was their dream project and why they bought the house ( they are a retired couple) I can sympathise more but if I think they are doing it JUST to make a profit and then they swan off somewhere else then it seems harder to accept.

 

 

Yesterday Mr said " ooo they're right busy down here can't seem to get any builders 'ho are free for about 12 weeks! "

I was then counting mentally ...June / July / August ......might just get away with the summer after all!!

[Fiz]

You are having a miserable time especially with your hip causing problems too. I'm really sorry, Lin. Hugs. x

[Fonty]

It was their hedge, was it, and not yours?

 

I must say, it seems very short sighted to pull down a mature hedge.  They are like gold dust, and all the gardening magazines are urging people to plant them.

[LinMM]

Yes Fonty it was THEIR hedge

This hedge was on three sides of their garden ( the previous owner was an old lady in her 90's who had lived there from many years before we arrived.) I can only guess the hedge was planted in the 70's or 80's. Only one side of the hedge bordered our garden but I know the lady who lives one down from them was a bit shocked too as "her" bit of the hedge disappeared too and she told me that she now feels very exposed when in the garden before the new neighbours put in a fence on her side.....they said after the extension has been built.

I think it's the shock of things just suddenly disappearing after they have always been there ( for us)

The two holly trees were on the far side of the garden from me but the lovely cherry was on our side and I was very fond of that tree too.

All the hedge and tree cutting happened in the second week of March so I thought they could have waited till this cherry "did its thing" for this year......masses of pink blossom!!

I had no idea there was any rule about hedge cutting Jacqueline .....in the sense that it was against the Law......only just a request that you respect the bird nesting season. This hedge was popular mostly with blackbirds for nesting.

 

I suppose I'm their neighbour from hell as I love wildlife and our garden is not exactly neat and tidy!!

 

Anyway we hope to maintain good relations with these neighbours inspite of everything .....their dog will probably keep the doors of communication open .....a gorgeous "blue" Staffie called Nuala and she is just so lovely and very good natured.....I'm already very fond of the dog!!!

I'm just praying now that the build keeps to the plans at least and doesn't cause us any further aggro.

On the bright side my garden is lovely to sit in without the sea view but that's the icing on the cake. In the end though it only takes eight minutes to walk down the road to the beach ......and how lucky is that!!

[Fonty]

Oh dear, I still wonder why they removed all the hedging, the exntension isn't going to be that big.  New owners around here do that, because they don't want the bother of maintaining them.  Lovely shrubs and hedges are replaced with ugly fencing, or huge walls.  My new neighbour adorned his with ugly security spikes as well, as if he thought I was going to climb into his garden.  Although as he has never lived in it, and rents it out, maybe it was to protect me!

[Jacqueline]

Our neighbours had their front garden dug up and replaced with tarmac, just leaving for some reason, a tiny triangle of earth in one corner, in which she plants her little rows of annuals. They have their car and caravan parked out front, the latter right up against the front window so that room must be in permanent shadow and they do use the room as that's where they have most of their rows, when he isn't smoking at the far end of the back garden while she stands at the back door shouting at him. He is, or pretends to be deaf so these 'conversations' are mostly her saying/shouting something and him muttering which she then doesn't hear and it becomes an exchange of ay?ay?ay? Why is there never a sink hole where you need one?

[alison]

well given that such well known European countries as Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey and Israel all participate, I think our nul points are guaranteed for years to come whichever way it goes 

 

Plus Australia (???)

[alison]

It makes me wonder what the government is doing.  If someone must turn their front garden into a parking space, there are perfectly good permeable surfaces that could be used, and there are some very attractive ones around.  It should be compulsory, not voluntary.  The evidence is there for everyone to see, but nobody in authority has made this very simple move.   

 

I recently saw some link to a parkable-on material which is actually some sort of framework you can grow grass through, and safely mow over the top of it, and everything.  Anyway, I thought the law (or local planning laws?) now banned you putting down impermeable driveways etc.?  Apart from anything else, the lack of water percolating through into the soil is liable to cause shrinkage, and subsidence, certainly in parts of South London where everything is on London Clay.

[alison]

Lin, I'm really sorry you're having such problems with your neighbours.  Are they by any chance "townies" who've moved out to the country?  I'm frequently amazed at the things people think they are entitled to do - and the lack of consideration for their neighbours.  (Mind you, I used to have downstairs neighbours who ripped out all the carpets, soft furnishings and so on in their rooms, to the extent that we then could hear all their conversations if they spoke even slightly louder than normal - which *he* often did - but they wouldn't even listen to me when I tried to tell them about it.  It got quite intolerable at times.  Not to mention them making structural alterations which they represented to me as "replacing a window", but definitely wasn't - where they should have got my approval as joint freeholder ...)

 

My concern is that while you may be able to do the 8-minute walk down to the beach now, what happens as you get older?

[alison]

And what is this trend for having an ENORMOUS open plan kitchen/dining/living room?  Apart from the fact that they must be horribly expensive to heat in the winter, it means you have to have all these gadgets and gizmos to prevent cooking smells and noise going over the whole house. 

 

While a large kitchen is nice, I don't particularly want it to invade the entire ground floor.  And don't people want to shut a door and have a bit of piece and quiet occasionally?

 

Yes, a large kitchen is nice, like a proper so called farmhouse do, all in keeping and proportion to the rest of the house.

I blame the trend for these monster kitchens on all those DIY programmes, where it  looks lovely to have so much space, but from a practical point of view it is another matter. Not just heating and associated costs, but cleaning high ceilings, massive windows, acres of floor, worktops etc. There was one show in particular where the 'architect' redesigning these 'living spaces' formerly known as kitchens, must have had a deal with the manufacturers as every design included those huge, folding doors that lead onto the decking/patio/terrace/whatever. Again, quite nice to be able to open up such access to the outdoors, but how many times would you be able to do so in our climate? Plus, I imagine they take some maintaining. Still, as long as your open plan comes with a 60" tv, all should be well.

There is such a complete lack of imagination about some of these builds and I can't think of any circumstances in which I would decimate a garden, in order to fill the new space with bricks and mortar. Some I have seen, the garden is reduced to a postage stamp. As Fonty says, they cut down all the trees and hedges, then wonder why there is no wildlife. Plus, they then go and buy outdoor furniture and parasols because there is, for some reason, no shade anymore. Weird.   

 

I quite agree.  We've been looking for somewhere to live for ages now, and I've lost track of the number of times I've looked at a property and gone "That would have done us really nicely if they hadn't put that extension on/knocked most/the whole of the downstairs into one."  "Sociable" living suits some people's situation, but not everybody's. 

One place recently I rejected precisely because they had built so far into the garden that there wasn't much of it left.  I found a property that would have been perfect from the point of view of the house, but the back garden was pocket-handkerchief size, and the front (masses of it) was all that brick-laid parking, which ran into the ditto parking areas of the houses on either side

 

OTOH, I did reject a property the other week *because* it had hedges round it on 3 sides, and I knew I'd never be able to manage with the upkeep

[alison]

I think the whole Brexit campaign has been absolutely appalling.  No academic analysis, just political soundbites from anyone who can get their opinion expressed in the media. 

 

How the heck are we supposed to vote, based on the information we have been given so far?

 

I agree. The EU in/out debate has all the intellectual rigor of a playground spat over who has the biggest conker. Or are conkers banned now? It is supposedly the biggest decision the citizens of this country will have to make about our future and yet the electorate is being treated as though it is incapable of grasping the facts, so we are not given any. Just scaremongering and pantomime level oh yes it is, oh no it isn't.

Most of the voices we hear on the news have a vested interest in the vote going their way, or have been told what to say on a matter that won't even affect them, so I treat everything I hear with the utmost caution. I see this morning even Gordon Brown has weighed in so I rest my case. It is shameful that those who govern us, treat us with such contempt. We don't all have such short or selective memories.

I have decided how I will vote, based more on instinct than anything else. As this seems to be the level at which the 'debate' is set, we might as well vote now and get it over with. 

 

If you want unbiased facts, you could do worse than look at https://fullfact.org/europe/   They are supposed to be fact-checking all these statements and presenting an unbiased conclusion.

[Jan McNulty]

Neighbour's party still going on when all I want to do is go to sleep!

[2dancersmum]

TODAY - will be glad when its over

 

Funeral for 2 of us to attend

DD2 has 3 GCSE exams (total of 5 hours sat in an exam room), despite the fact that she is still recovering from a tummy bug. Took her out of school after her exam yesterday morning, much to the disapproval of the head of year who seemed to think staying lessons and spreading the bug was much more important.

End of year exam for non DS at university

 

Only hope for an enjoyable good day lies with DD1

[Fiz]

That all sounds extremely stressful. I do hope tomorrow is a much better day for you all. x

[LinMM]

It's a shame all these exams come in May and June two of the nicest months of the year. I reckon February and March would be better or if we started the school year in January then perhaps exams could be in November!!

 

What's wrong with starting the school year in January....I'm thinking. August could still be main holiday month ( though I'd make that July) as a sort of half way point in the year.

 

People should be making the most of the light in May and June not worrying about exams then.

[2dancersmum]

thanks Fiz. I honestly have to say that yesterday was truly stressful. The funeral went ok but I had barely been home five minutes and DH had just left for work when the phone rang. A voice against a noisy background sobbed into the phone, said 'mummy' and then hung up. Bearing in mind that DD1 works abroad and is often out alone in a country where she does not speak the language and that DD2 at the time was inbetween exams and under supervision (ie no phones allowed) because of an exam clash, I really did not know what to think. So after a few hours of worry, DD1 texts to say she had not phoned me and I collected DD2 from her final exam and it was not her either. So I've no idea who the call was from - though it certainly sounded like DD2.After that the day could onlyget better.

[Fiz]

That's awful, 2dm! I would have been worried sick if I had received a phone call like that. I very much hope that the week improves for you. x

[Fonty]

I recently saw some link to a parkable-on material which is actually some sort of framework you can grow grass through, and safely mow over the top of it, and everything.  Anyway, I thought the law (or local planning laws?) now banned you putting down impermeable driveways etc.?  Apart from anything else, the lack of water percolating through into the soil is liable to cause shrinkage, and subsidence, certainly in parts of South London where everything is on London Clay.

 

I just checked, Alison, because I wasn't sure what the law actually was regarding driveways. 

 

On 1 October 2008 new rules applied for householders wanting to hard surface over their front gardens. If the surface to be covered is more than five square metres, you are required to get planning permission for laying traditional, impermeable driveways that do not control rainwater running off onto roads. This will apply to new driveways, drive extensions or drive replacements.

 

You do NOT need planning permission if the surface to be covered is less than five square metres or if the new surface is permeable or porous or if a traditional surface is laid and the rainwater is directed to a lawn or border to drain naturally or if it is directed to a soakaway via a drainage channel. An estimated 70% of existing driveways already drain in a sustainable way.

.

So, impermeable driveways are not banned, which startles me.  Also, I would be interested to know how many people get planning permission refused.  And whether an official actually goes round and checks that there is a border or soakaway.  I suspect not. 

 

Sorry to hear about your stressful time 2dm. 

[LinMM]

Trying to buy tickets for Richmond Theatre grrrrrrrrr!!!

 

Having found out I can go next Wednesday to Jane Eyre have been trying for the last half an hour to buy a ticket for it......no luck yet!!

 

It doesn't seem to like June 1st!! Not because it's sold out it just doesn't seem to load that day ....only the Tuesday

Oh well have a cup of tea and try again later!

[alison]

June 1st had better availability when I looked the other day.  I could get the seating plan to load, but hadn't got any further.

[alison]

RAIN.  Just when I had a whole Bank Holiday free, with no work, and just planning to do some fairly leisurely housework and watch the tennis from Paris all day (up until about 9 pm), they cancel play for the entire day at 2 pm their time because of persistent rain  

[Jan McNulty]

Sorry Alison, it's hot and sunny here in Liverpool!

[alison]

Yeah, well, Liverpool's a lot further north than Paris!  It's just grey and a bit muggy down in London.

[Quintus]

RAIN.  Just when I had a whole Bank Holiday free, with no work, and just planning to do some fairly leisurely housework and watch the tennis from Paris all day (up until about 9 pm), they cancel play for the entire day at 2 pm their time because of persistent rain

 

I'll second that.  We're booked to drive across France to Geneva next week.  It's forecast to rain every day we are over there, and on top of that the French industrial action is hotting up again, so there is petrol rationing and long queues to get it. 

[Fonty]

I'll third both Alison and Quintus.  I had organised my entire weekend around the French Open. 

 

And we are also supposed to be travelling across France in the next couple of weeks,  but the weather is the holding up our plans.  Friends of ours cut their holiday short because the weather has been so awful over there. 

 

And it doesn't help that people in Scotland keep telling me how hot it is up there, either. 

Edited June 1, 2016 by Fonty

[Jan McNulty]

And here in Liverpool too, Fonty.  It's cloudier today but still HOT!!!