Forum Topic

Ridiculous planning restriction

I need a 2nd floor bedroom extension at the rear of my house. It will not not visible from the street, only from my neighbour's house, which has got exactly the same extension. Indeed, it seems that nearly all the other houses in the street have done the same.  But my street and all the surrounding streets have now been included in the Turnham Green Conservation Area and apparently such extensions are not permitted to have windows!  That means the bedroom would be in darkness like a prison cell, and from the outside the extension would appear as just an ugly block.  I cannot find a way to discuss this with a planning officer, and I certainly don't want to spend thousands on drawings etc. only to have the application dismissed for the above ridiculous reason.  What to do?

David Darlow ● 1426d7 Comments

You should be able to meet with a planning officer for a pre-app. discussion. I believe there is a charge for this.

Jonathan Simpson ● 1425d

Thank you, Jonathan. But I can't find any way of actually contacting a real person in the Planning Dept.  The phone number just gives you a recorded voice offering a variety of completely irrelevant options.

David Darlow ● 1425d

Would a local Councillor be able to help?

Anne England ● 1425d

Although other neighbours may have what you now want to do, planning legislation does change - and as you are now in a conservation area there are extra considerations as you have found out. I too would contact a local councillor - quite honestly Hounslow's website is awful - just trying to negotiate your way around to find out the simplest of things is a nightmare!

Vanessa Smith ● 1425d

Talk to/consult/employ an independent Planning Consultant who will know their way around the rules and the best way of making your case to the council.

Peter Evans ● 1425d

Not sure the restriction is due to being in a Conservation Area, more likely would be that there is a concern you could see from a window into the neighbour's house (presumably into a bedroom as 2nd floor) which is a major privacy issue, although in my experience one the Hounslow Planning Dept will ignore when it is a building project on land the Council owned.  If the issue is simple privacy then the solution would be to have a frosted glass window, the sort you often see in bathrooms.As others have said best way is to hire a planning consultant to assist you, many of them are ex-council planning officers although maybe not ex-Hounslow Council

Justin Stephenson ● 1425d

It sounds as though what is proposed is a rear dormer roof extension, which is often permitted development, but such permitted development rights do not exist in conservation areas hence why planning permission is now required.  Also as Justin says the concern about windows will be related to overlooking/loss of privacy concerns - it might also be that the Council is concerned about the size and siting of the proposed roof extension, as within a Conservation Area a rear dormer would be expected to be set in from the eaves, ridge and sides of the roofslope.Long gone are the days when you can just pick up the phone and have a speculative chat with a Planning Officer.  Instead you'd have to submit a pre-application advice request (usually a covering letter along with at the very least some sketch plans), for which LBH currently charge £192.98 for written advice, or £254.69 for a meeting with an Officer followed by written advice.You shouldn't really need a planning consultant for a domestic extension (I never deal with such projects) because the issues are essentially subjective rather than issues relating to technical planning policy, I'd recommend finding an architect who is familiar with Hounslow's Residential Extension Guidelines.

Adam Beamish ● 1424d