Neighbouring Property

[Theblip]

If you’ve lived in a nice place with nice views for some time, then a neighbour - despite your official objection - gets permission to build a gigantic extension which overlooks your property, blocks your view, and devalues your property, is there anything you can do re seeking compensation from them or the council?

[Peter Pedant]

the short answer is no
you have missed the boat

planning permission has been granted and no one will revoke it under any circs because - - - there is money in compensation to be paid

[Peter Pedant]

you should have retained a planning lawyer to oppose the application which I imagine you didnt because of the moolah involved to plead the obvious....

[Apc2604]

You have no rights to views, or devaluation of your property, but there are rules about light blocking. But, as said, once planning has been approved and the building is there it's just hard luck!

[Theblip]

There’s things in life many of us through inexperience don’t become aware of until it’s too late, and that’s how others are able to take advantage.

[Peter Pedant]

this is a - - - I wish I had done.... thread

and we agree. Too late

[Peter Pedant]

We are going to get a gypsy grotto - excuse me a travellers rest park within 500 m
and we havent even had the letters yet !

[tamborine]

plant lleyandii close to offending structure to block view over your property

[bednobs]

this has already been covered by previous answers but no - if your neighbours have got permission, the proposed extension is most likely within planning laws, so nothing illegal has happened, and they would have taken your concerns into consideration already.
i don't understand how you would work out how much compensation to get for loss of view (your "nice view" might not be anyone elses idea of a nice view)How do you know it devalues your property - it hasn't even been built yet. it may increase the value as prospective buyers can see they could have a massive extension themselves and there is now precendence and pay more

[barry1010]

I went through this over 10 years ago and it was hugely stressful - the build went ahead.
I can honestly say you do get used to it.

[bhg481]

I wonder what some people do in their house/garden that makes them worry about neighbours overlooking them.

[barry1010]

My wife and I are naturalists. If you are used to a very private garden it is deeply unpleasant to lose that privacy

[barry1010]

I do of course mean naturists

[Peter Pedant]

my brother did the Leylandii bit

[barry1010]

We had to resort to leylandii too

[Atheist]

"overlooks our property" often means that the extension would be visible from the neighboring property, and that could be considered as being overbearing (which the planners seem not to have considered a serious issue). Overlooking from windows could occur, but the OP doesn't make this clear; in any case the planners decided that that wouldn't justify refusal.
I doubt if expensive planning consultants would make any difference in the case of a straghtforward domestic extension where the issues would be few and clearly assessable.
There is a presumption in favour of granting planning permission unless there would be significant demonstrable harm to interests of acknowledged importance. There would be no justification for refusal solely on the basis of a neighbour's objection, without significant demonstrable harm being caused. There has to be a failure to comply with local planning policy, not simply a local referendum; how would the OP feel if he proposed a perfectly reasonable extension and it was refused, the reason for refusal being that a neighbour didn't like the look of it, or a neighbour disliked the applicant personally.
It does seem that the issues would have been assessed and the decision issued lawfully. If that wasn't the case the decision could be challenged in terms of lawfulness. e.g. important issues were not considered, or proper procedures were not followed. Legal challenge would be costly, win or lose.

[Atheist]

BTW there are restrictions on the planting of heges; I'm not familiar with them, but they are presumably designed to protect harmful impact on neighbours. Before fighting back with leylandii, you should check this out carefully.

[Peter Pedant]

OK leylandii - quick then

[AuntPollyGrey]

What form did your 'official objection' take? What was the reply to your objection from the council?

[Apc2604]

//I wonder what some people do in their house/garden that makes them worry about neighbours overlooking them.//

I simply couldn't cope with living anywhere where we were overlooked by anyone. I suppose one day I may have to. We don't do anything offensive to anyone in our house or garden. We simply like privacy.

[Arrods]

Our neighbour applied for PP to build a massive extension almost up to our property. It was approved and the decision was affirmed by the Local Govt Ombudsman, despite our view that the local authority had not abided by its own policy.

We threatened to take out an injunction on the grounds that it breached our legal right of light (which can override PP). They backed down and eventually moved away.