If you’re unhappy about a neighbour’s planned extension

You might have a very good relationship with your neighbours. But if their building plan could have a negative impact on your property, you’re likely to be upset. You might think it will affect your privacy or the amount of light you get in your home. It might threaten the amount of parking in the area or reduce accessibility. It could damage nearby trees, or its design could be totally out of character for the neighbourhood. So how do you object?

You have several weeks to object

Every planning application that a local authority gets has to have a period of public consultation. This can be anything between three and eight weeks long. If your neighbour needs planning permission, the planning officer should write to tell you a planning application has been made. You can then study the plans and raise objections. The planning officer will take your objections into account when they decide whether to grant planning permission or not.

How we can help

We can explain the planning application process and help you find out if a neighbour has made a planning application. Our experts will also advise you on the best way to challenge a planning application, including what you should think about when you’re working out what grounds to object on. We’ll:

• listen to what the situation is
• give you clear guidance on your rights and options
• advise you on next steps