An Bord pleanala/appealing a planning decision

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Mpsox

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Folks

my next door neighbour applied to the local council to convert his 4 bedroom bungalow into a 6 bed/6 bath monstrosity of a dormer. Aside from the fact that it was not going to be in accordance with the other houses in the estate, it was also going to dramitcally overshadow our house.
We objected and the local council turned him down, he appealed with new reduced plans, got rejected again, he appealed to An Bord Pleanala, the inspector to his credit recomended that the application be rejected, but here's the nub of my problem, someone in An Bord Pleanala still granted him permission, even though their own inspector and the local council were not in favour.

Does anyone know how this can happen and what the "process" within An Bord Pleanala is?
Also, the building work is going to have a major effect on our house whilst it is going on as the houses are close and I cannot see how he can do some of his work without putting scaffolding on the dividing wall. Can I legally prevent him from doing this

Lastly, if we had to sell, and we fear we have no choice here, if the house has lost value, can I sue him?
 
I don't know about internal procedures at ABP, but what you describe can and does happen. In a case I was involved in, it went the other way: the inspector recommended granting permission (against our wishes as we were objecting), but the decision was to refuse. In other words, the decision went in our favour and against the internal recommendation. As we were the only objectors and didn't in any way attempt anything underhand (which I guess is a concern you might have), I can say that in our case it was all above board. I can only assume that the decision is made based on more than the inspector's report.

As far as I know, you can prevent all access to your own property if you wish: you're under no obligation to assist in any way with the construction. Having said that, you do need to live beside them and presumably they'll find a way to do what they want, so maybe draw a line under it.

If they build what they have permission for, there's no way you can sue for lost value of your own property (or for anything else for that matter). By the way, loss of property value is not even a valid grounds for planning permission refusal.
 
Seemingly their decision is final and can only be appealed on a point of law. We are asking for all their internal paperwork on this. I wouldn't possibly mind so much if I understood why they ignored their own report.
 
I think you can appeal to the Supreme Court (?) against ABP decisions but no-one would do this for an appeal of this nature as it would cost too much and have little chance of success. It could ruin a normal punter financially if they took this course of action and lost.

I would not cooperate with the next door neighbour in any case, they may have sought the permission in order to sell the house with this permission and do not intend going ahead with the works particularly if they cannot get necessary access to undertake the works. I don't envy you though, falling out with neighbours about such matters is a nightmare and can only lead to grief.
 
if they are blocking your light would that count as a breech, is there someone you could contact, it would seem very unfair. We were on the other side of planning problems it took us 5 years to battle and evenutally get permission, in the end we moved!! good luck with it its a draining process.
 
You can't appeal an ABP decision. You can only bring a high court action against them on a point of law, which is not the same as an appeal.

Whatever about the possibility of sucess at this, it would be extremely expensive. In effect, it's the end of the line as regards planning permission.
 
pc7 said:
if they are blocking your light would that count as a breech, is there someone you could contact, it would seem very unfair. We were on the other side of planning problems it took us 5 years to battle and evenutally get permission, in the end we moved!! good luck with it its a draining process.
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If you think it's draining getting permission, it's even more trying to stop something! They can keep putting applications and if necessary appealing them until they get something. The case I was involved in (a neighbour of my parents) applied three times to the council, and appealed twice to ABP before giving up. It's very frustrating.

As for the blocking of light, presumably this was mentioned in the original objection and ABP appeal. Regardless of whether it was or not, once they have permission they can build: there is no further appeal.
 
that's hard - i'd crack up if someone was blocking the light to my home
 
Permission granted - it's end of the road for you as regards appealing.

It's not unusual for ABP to go against Inspector's report.

Why do you assume a drop in your property's value? You can now apply for planning to increase the size of your own home - precedent now set.

You would be better off to settle this "dispute" with your neighbour. He may not need access to your property at all to do work on his own.
 
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