Planning Objection Consultants

The Council can only take into account ‘material planning considerations’ when looking at your comments. The most common of these (although not an exhaustive list) are shown below:

Reasons

• Loss of light or overshadowing
• Overlooking/loss of privacy
• Visual amenity (but not loss of private view)
• Adequacy of parking/loading/turning
• Highway safety
• Traffic generation
• Noise and disturbance resulting from use
• Hazardous materials
• Smells
• Loss of trees
• Effect on listed building and conservation area
• Layout and density of building
• Design, appearance and materials
• Landscaping
• Road access
• Local, strategic, regional and national planning policies
• Government circulars, orders and statutory instruments
• Disabled persons’ access
• Compensation and awards of costs against the Council at public enquiries
• Proposals in the Development Plan
• Previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
• Nature conservation
• Archaeology
• Solar panels

We cannot take into account matters which are sometimes raised but are not normally planning considerations such as:

• The perceived loss of property value
• Private disputes between neighbours
• The loss of a view
• The impact of construction work or competition between firms
• Restrictive covenants
• Ownerships disputes over rights of way
• Fence lines etc
• Personal morals or views about the applicant.

Please note: it is important to understand that the material considerations relevant to any particular application will need to be weighed in the final decision process according to their seriousness and relative importance.

Visit the Planning Portal website which answers the question “How do I object to a planning application and can I do so online?”

The anonymity of planning rejections is entirely dependent on the individual policies of local planning authorities. Generally, all comments submitted to an LPA must contain a valid name and address in order to be considered, however, objectors may request the withdrawal of their details for all records uploaded or distributed for public inspection.

Objecting to planning applications can be done online. Your Local Planning Authority (LPA) gives access to viewing all planning applications that are submitted to anyone interested via their website. Objections to planning permission are visible on the LPA database, but you can request that your name and address are withheld.

However, if there is a chance that new development is going to be worked on in your local area and the planning officer that is assigned to the case deems it necessary to inform you because they believe that the new development may affect you, they will send a letter to your home directly presenting the proposed plans. Not all reasons that you may put forward will be considered as the grounds for the planning permission to be rejected – you need to make sure you are proposing a valid reason for the refusal.

An objection from your neighbour is not necessarily a reason to reject your application. Your neighbour would need to present solid and valid reasons as to why the proposed plans should not go ahead.

The following are the grounds on which planning permission is most likely to be refused (although this list is not intended to be definitive) :

• Adverse effect on the residential amenity of neighbours, by reason of (among other factors) noise, disturbance, overlooking, loss of privacy, overshadowing, etc. This does not include noise or disturbance arising from the actual execution of the works, which will not be taken into account, except possibly concerning conditions that may be imposed on the planning permission, dealing with hours and methods of working, etc. during the development.
• Unacceptably high density/over-development of the site, especially if it involves loss of garden land or the open aspect of the neighbourhood (so-called ‘garden grabbing’)
• Visual impact of the development
• Effect of the development on the character of the neighbourhood
• Design (including bulk and massing, detailing and materials, if these form part of the application)
• The proposed development is overbearing, out-of-scale or out of character in terms of its appearance compared with existing development in the vicinity
• The loss of existing views from neighbouring properties would adversely affect the residential amenity of neighbouring owners
• If in a Conservation Area, adverse effect of the development on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area
• If near a Listed Building, adverse effect of the development on the setting of the Listed Building.
• The development would adversely affect highway safety or the convenience of road users, but only if there is technical evidence to back up such a claim.