To be fed up of renovations on a nearby house

For six months last year the lady across the road had a to of cosmetic work done on her house, at the same time our neighbours had extensions on theirs. For us - an absolute nightmare, with parking and trying to get out of our drive! We are one of the few occupants[ants whose car belongs in the drive.

Feel for you. I had this in the first lockdown….noise from 8 am….vans …6 or more parked along my boundary….no privacy in the garden…foul mouthed banter rang out all day….grass outside my property churned up….repaired only ‘their’ side then had the audacity to say it was caused by my sons van! He couldn’t get near! I complained and their reaction was to ignore me. Suits me, I’ve no time for selfish people.

Why is it that planning permission is readily granted to extensions yet to get planning permission for a tree with a tpo is a nightmare? The tree that damaged our house subsequently led to the need for scaffolding for the roof repairs. I have been stuck with scaffolding for 3 weeks now. Why can't they take it away when they have been told it is no longer needed?

Vintagejazz

What about other people's right to peaceful enjoyment of their home? Have you ever lived on a road where one house after another is going through lengthy and major renovations?

If that was to my address, yes I do live in a road where neighbours carry out renovations, and I have also lived in blocks of flats where renovations were in progress.

Obviously, if the noise and inconvenience is above what industrial standards allow, you have the right complain.

But it seems to me that what you call "other people's right to peaceful emjoyment of their homes" could well be their right to decide what someone else may, or may not, do with their home.

Your planning authority - the Council - can enforce conditions attached to planning consents.

kjmpde The reason they don’t take the scaffolding away promptly is because they have nowhere to store it until the next job. So you’re their free storage depot.

We moved because of this, not really the building/workmen but as the older generation slowly downsized as children grew up the people who bough houses saw opportunities to express themselves, they were outrageously self entitled and rude. We basically restored a lovely arts and crafts house on the original footprint and all around us the houses were being extended upwards and outwards into the gardens with bling outdoor bars and swimming pools taking up all the green space. We were so hacked off that when we put in a new loo we left the old one in the middle of the front garden with petunias in it. The street was so friendly when we first moved in with small children but by the time we left it was full of social climbing, competitive families who refused to give us the time of day. It ended up with us and our immediate next door neighbours being deliberately excluded from the local monthly 'pub nights' that we originally set up ? as they moved from the lovely local pub to smarter places like restaurants with stars and cocktail bars! We were probably too scruffy to be let in by then. It was the worst type of gentrification imho. I think it was partly fuelled by the competitiveness of the younger non-working wives who had too much time on their hands and were bored with childcare (even a live in nanny next door). I still can't watch Motherland without being a bit sad that a lovely area was ruined by aspirational snobs.

I agree when they buy a period property then rip out the heart of the home and paint what’s left gray - beautiful patination ruined. Cover period wooden floors with Lino. Put in double glazing that out of character.
Then the extension in the basements, One day the roads will collapse.

'Why would anyone just allow scaffolding to be put on their garden other than by an agreement prepared by their solicitor at the neighbour’s expense and in return for £££?'
We and our neighbours have each had to place some scaffolding poles in each other's rather narrow side passageways and it hasn't occurred to either of us to ask for financial recompense. We just each accommodate the other.

I would not like prolonged building projects going on near me though: loud music and shouted bad language is unacceptable. If you want to complain about that, most councils will require some back up evidence so you'd need to start a diary. On the same note, we have a care home being greatly extended very near to us, a project taking several years and not once have we been subjected to music or loud sweary voices!

We were refurbishing my mothers house and had open house for builders to come and meet, talk, and discuss our plans for it. It’s a 1950’s three bedroom with some character. We wanted it sympathetically refurbished with no extensions but the number of builders who were trying to persuade us to knock it down and do a complete rebuild, or do all sorts of major work inside was stressful. We chose a lovely builder who listened to what we wanted and worked with us and helped us come to some good decisions.
There are many building projects going on at the moment. I suspect it’s easier to extend then to buy somewhere else. Also, a previous OP remarked that some older people are still living in big houses and have not down sized. Sorry, but if it’s been their home for years and they are managing it and happy there, and also want the space to entertain their family, why should they down size unless they themselves feel it’s too much for them.

My neighbour acquired planning permission for a shower room only. The workmen were there for months. But worst still was the drilling of our shared wall. The result is I can hear their fire alarm going off several times a week; also I can hear walking and talking which sounds like people are in our house. The landlord for the property lives elsewhere.

The whole concept of community and giving a damn about other people seems to be flying out the window. It's all about 'I have a legal right to do this that and the other'.

kjmpde

Why is it that planning permission is readily granted to extensions yet to get planning permission for a tree with a tpo is a nightmare? The tree that damaged our house subsequently led to the need for scaffolding for the roof repairs. I have been stuck with scaffolding for 3 weeks now. Why can't they take it away when they have been told it is no longer needed?

The reason scaffolders leave scaffolding at a customers house is because many smaller companies do not have storage facilities so wait until they have a new job to take the scaffolding to.

After my roof was replaced just before Christmas, I had scaffolding left for over a month, in the end I hung some Christmas lights around it! It looked lovely!

mistymitts

We were refurbishing my mothers house and had open house for builders to come and meet, talk, and discuss our plans for it. It’s a 1950’s three bedroom with some character. We wanted it sympathetically refurbished with no extensions but the number of builders who were trying to persuade us to knock it down and do a complete rebuild, or do all sorts of major work inside was stressful. We chose a lovely builder who listened to what we wanted and worked with us and helped us come to some good decisions.
There are many building projects going on at the moment. I suspect it’s easier to extend then to buy somewhere else. Also, a previous OP remarked that some older people are still living in big houses and have not down sized. Sorry, but if it’s been their home for years and they are managing it and happy there, and also want the space to entertain their family, why should they down size unless they themselves feel it’s too much for them.

We will be putting our old family home, that we all grew up in, on the market soon. It's a lovely old 1930s house with most of the original features. I am dreading some monied couple buying it and vandalising it inside.
The neighbours are also lovely people who have had to put up with a huge renovation job on the other side. I hate to think of them having another year of disruption because some couple who really love modern interiors and decoration have decided to buy a period house simply because they want to live on that road, but don't particularly like that style of house.

Also, a previous OP remarked that some older people are still living in big houses and have not down sized. Sorry, but if it’s been their home for years and they are managing it and happy there, and also want the space to entertain their family, why should they down size

I wasn't suggesting that they should. As I said, we also still live in a large house with just 2 of us. The point I was making was that it means that these larger homes aren't then available for families with children who need the space. Which means many are forced to buy a smaller home and enlarge it. As our ex-neighbours did. Many of the smaller homes near us have had garages converted into extra rooms, attic extensions and ground floor extensions. Sadly it's had the knock-on effect of making most homes in our village too expensive for younger families now, as there are few smaller homes left and the ones being built are horrendously expensive 4+ bedrooms.

When we lived in our previous house one of our neighbours spent 5 years enlarging and altering his corner property. Work kept stopping for months because he ran out of money. It had a very pretty front garden and large back garden with lovely old fruit trees and climbing roses. When eventually the work was finished the front garden was tarmacked to park cars, and the back garden had been reduced to a small shaded paved patio, every tree was ripped out. The extended house was ugly with large dormer windows to the back and one side. Two years after it was finished he sold it, said he wanted something bigger with more land!!

We extended the house we now live in. We bought it because it was within our budget in a lovely village and had the potential to be adapted to our needs without destroying its cottagey charm. However, from the start I stipulated that work would not start until 8.30am each day and finish at 6pm. No work at weekends. No loud music and no bad language! Parking is not really a problem on our road, even big delivery wagons, so our neighbours were not inconvenienced by parking. We wanted to get along with our neighbours, not upset them before we'd really got to know them. As we were living in the house throughout the work (which took 6 months) these rules were strictly adhered to and we had no complaints from neighbours. A friend of our next door neighbour presented us with a list of what he considered we could and couldn't do. He was a rather bossy 'know all' who didn't even live there, just invited himself to stay frequently! I crossed through what was already taken care of, marked other points as N/A and handed it back saying the work would not impact on him as he was not a resident, and if Jxxxx had any concerns I was sure she would speak to us directly. He got the message. Thankfully he was dumped by our very nice neighbour not long after. There were very few delays with the build, just a few compromises here and there. Many people have remarked that the house doesn't appear to have changed at all. When seen from the street it's still a small stone cottage, but when you step inside it's a bit of a Tardis, and we still have a decent sized garden.

My home, for over 30 years, has had a large extension added, as I needed the extra space. Are many Gnetters suggesting once we buy a house we should move elsewhere if we need to make improvements or alterations?

Lots of restorations are done up and down the country and they cause disturbances, as do new builds. Some people just love to moan about it and about the changes that occur from this sort of work e.g. replacing fireplaces, coving, old cast radiators. railings etc for more modern interiors. Give it another twenty years and the next owners will rip it all out again and put back the old stuff. Make the workmen a cake , some tea, sandwiches and you'll get peace and quietish work.

coastalgran

Lots of restorations are done up and down the country and they cause disturbances, as do new builds. Some people just love to moan about it and about the changes that occur from this sort of work e.g. replacing fireplaces, coving, old cast radiators. railings etc for more modern interiors. Give it another twenty years and the next owners will rip it all out again and put back the old stuff. Make the workmen a cake , some tea, sandwiches and you'll get peace and quietish work.

Cake? Tea? Sandwiches? Oh no no no!! Our builders brought their own lunch and beverages and used the public conveniences in the village. Although I did make a cake for the young apprentices 18th birthday during the build. He was a nice lad and often the first one to arrive every day.

123kitty

My home, for over 30 years, has had a large extension added, as I needed the extra space. Are many Gnetters suggesting once we buy a house we should move elsewhere if we need to make improvements or alterations?

Where did anyone suggest that?

There are two issues here - one, that the housing crisis means that people are forced to buy smaller houses than they need and then extend, and then gentrification of an area that boosts prices sky high because a regular semi has been overhauled so dramatically that it’s worth a huge amount over the original price.

Grammaretto
Are you going to have your trees cut down to accommodate your neighbours plans ?.Ask what its worth

Our house was a very small bungalow until the previous owner, a developer, turned it into a contemporary house. I expect someone has been deprived of a little bungalow near the sea but there are so many in the nearest town (no PT in the village) it's unbelievable. God's waiting room. If our neighbours were disturbed in the process, they haven't said anything to us, and there were no objections to the plans.

We've just had our roof replaced. Neither of our neighbours have objected to a temporary piece of scaffolding on their land. I'm amazed that people would expect to get paid! I wouldn't in the same situation! We will of course take round a bottle of wine and a thank you card to each of them.

Had the same when our new neighbours moved in. They had scaffolding on our property didn’t keep it clean debris everywhere. Constant noise workmen noisy at all hours dust constantly coming over into our garden. Drove me potty and not even a bunch of flowers/bottle of wine as a thank you. Selfish gits basically.