Neighbour planning a house right behind our stables

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smilie_riley

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We bought our property just over a year ago next to a farm. Our neighbour has applied to pull down the redundant farm buildings and put up houses. The plans include a house whose back door will be literally 2m from the back of our stables and whose garden will run next to our muck heap.
We have objected (obviously) but the planning officer's report suggested that a 2m high fence should be sufficient to deal with this. The planning committee is due to meet at the end of the month and I want to object again. Is there any national guidelines on the siting of stables? I have looked at the local ones but they assume that the house exists and the planning is for the stables rather than the other way round.
 
I would find a local pig farmer and offer free dumping on your land.
Book a month is Portugal, and send horses to a trainer.
Planning is a joke.
 
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I don't know about the siting of housing near stables but I believe that muck heaps but be a certain distance from buildings so it may be worth checking with your local council.
 
The issue will be that if the houses are built and your muck heap and/or horses then cause the new residents a nuisance they can complain to the council. Sadly it doesn't matter who was there first but if they complain about the smell or noise then the council can investigate this and if they deem it a nuisance then you may have to move the muck heap/horses away from the house.
 
Pilib said:
The issue will be that if the houses are built and your muck heap and/or horses then cause the new residents a nuisance they can complain to the council. Sadly it doesn't matter who was there first but if they complain about the smell or noise then the council can investigate this and if they deem it a nuisance then you may have to move the muck heap/horses away from the house.
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That's exactly what I'm afraid of. We did consult a planning solicitor who did say that as we were there first we should be ok but I'm not convinced.

I've contacted the council about the muckheap but it was their suggestion that a 2m high fence would be sufficient!
 
tda said:
Be careful because there are regulations about muck heaps now I believe, so they might throw that at you
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That's what I don't understand. The planning makes the problem not the muckheap. It's been there for over 15 years.

We are allowed to stand up at the planning committee to object and I was looking for any guidelines that I can site to prevent the problem arising.
 
There have been regulations about muck heaps for years, it might be when you have neighbours that they may be enforced more stringently, not that I'm suggesting your current behaviour isn't exemplary you understand. Good luck, it all sounds like a pain in the proverbial.
 
Slightly Foxed said:
There have been regulations about muck heaps for years, it might be when you have neighbours that they may be enforced more stringently, not that I'm suggesting your current behaviour isn't exemplary you understand. Good luck, it all sounds like a pain in the proverbial.
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Any idea where I can find these regulations? I can use them as the basis of our objection.
 
Chat to environmental health dept and get their slant on this.
Think it's worth getting proper legal representation too.

Local yard were made to remove a block of stables and also re-site muck heap as 1 house owner complained to council about flies and noise.
Stables and heap had been there over 5 years, the house was a brand new converted barn and the new owners who did the converting were anti countryside anything... it was actually over 500 yards from the stables, but planning never even made a site visit!
 
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To a certain extent what you do on your own property is your own business UNLESS it is shown that you are causing a public nuisance eg by noise or smell. There was a dairy farmer who sold a barn near his milking parlour ,who had to give up because the new residents objected to the noise of 6am milking.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

I've run planning - I might give them a try again as their own guidance on stables says that they need to be 30m away from any neighbouring house. I'll give the environmental health dept a ring too and I thought about using the BD legal helpline too.

Really don't need this. All I want to do is enjoy my stables.
 
I would check what comments the Environmental Health team made on the application and as you said phone them up about it.

Also most committees do a site viewing a week or so before the meeting. (Mine is the Friday before) so might worth suggesting to Planning that they show the muck heap as would not be surprised if they don't venture far down if they do go!
 
I was forced to move my muck heap by a neighbour, and safe to say the EH officer who dealt with it was hardly impartial - the muck heap was well maintained and at least 50ft from the house, although it was next to the fence. He (EHO) claimed to have stood the other side of the fence and been able to smell horse wee, even though nothing had been added to the heap for three months. When I pointed out neighbours cesspit and overflow tank were under the fence he claimed to be easily able to tell the difference. I suspect the neighbour ( a "little man" :o) had bullied him into supporting his case, so don't think it is cut and dried, you might be well advised to get EH on your side at this stage
 
What about something like you will remove your objections on the condition that there is a caveat written into the new houses deeds that they are aware equestrian facilities are in close proximity and if purchasing the property complaints may not be made to the council or otherwise regarding this.

Like those clauses they put into new homes that you can't build a front garden fence etc.
 
You won't be able to stop the planning going through .
And sadly I predict you are in for trouble unless your new neighbours are really laid back .
I saw this with my friends case it was nuts the people bought a cottage on a farm and then were able to stop someone using a barn that had been there for 100 years .
 
Exploding Chestnuts said:
I would find a local pig farmer and offer free dumping on your land.
Book a month is Portugal, and send horses to a trainer.
Planning is a joke.
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Sadly this. The whole planning system seems to rely on who knows who and scratching each others back as far as I can see. I would though at the very least write another concise but friendly letter explaining that your objection is based on the fact that they are situating it badly due to the stables/muck heap so it is on public record that they are aware - and also make that point at the public meeting.
 
I thought there were regulations about how close you are allowed to build to a boundary fence. I thought it was about 15 or 20ft so I doubt they'd allow anything as close as 2mtrs.
 
stormox said:
I thought there were regulations about how close you are allowed to build to a boundary fence. I thought it was about 15 or 20ft so I doubt they'd allow anything as close as 2mtrs.
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No I don't think so , I just been involved with a development where we have three feet between the new house and the boundary
 
Can you get your local parish council on your side? They are going to have more of an interest in protecting rural life than a town council I suspect and can be very bullish in their objections (I used to work for one!).
 
Pilib said:
The issue will be that if the houses are built and your muck heap and/or horses then cause the new residents a nuisance they can complain to the council. Sadly it doesn't matter who was there first but if they complain about the smell or noise then the council can investigate this and if they deem it a nuisance then you may have to move the muck heap/horses away from the house.
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Yes this is insane isn't it! A live music venue near us has closed recently because the flats above got converted into rental rooms, and the new residents complained about the noise. Why rent a flat above a music venue if noise is a problem???? Same as the people that move to the country and complain about cow and chicken noises. Losers!!
 
Same as those who move close to a motor racing circuit, trying to get them closed down within a few months, the likes of brands hatch are now only allowed a handful of days to use the GP circuit (so the shorter indi circuit used most of the time) Mallory park losing its 3 day race meetings as now no practice days on the fridays allowed due to environmental concerns of 3 days of noise from 9 till 5 - meaning most race organisers dont use it - thus sending revenue down by loads.
Castle Combe circuit having severe cuts due to locals objections - now only 1 test day a week there in summer months and only 1 motorbike race meeting a year now when there were several throughout the year - same goes for for Thruxton, Donington Park (despite the noise of planes from East Midlands airport being far more noisy day AND night) and Snetterton, to name just a few that 'country folk' are now objecting to.

To echo Pigeon, why the hell move there in the 1st place??? :mad3:
 
There is nothing to stop you lobbying your Planning Committee with your concerns. The District Council make the decision with advice from the Officers, and the Parish Council make comments but do not have the power to approve or disapprove the plans, although the District should take some notice of the comments.

Of course the applicants make appeal even if they are turned down ........................................
 
canteron said:
Sadly this. The whole planning system seems to rely on who knows who and scratching each others back as far as I can see. I would though at the very least write another concise but friendly letter explaining that your objection is based on the fact that they are situating it badly due to the stables/muck heap so it is on public record that they are aware - and also make that point at the public meeting.
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This simply isn't true. Believe it or not, planning decisions have to follow national and local plans and policies. I'd advise speaking to your parish council or the planning officer in charge of this application.
 
Goldenstar said:
No I don't think so , I just been involved with a development where we have three feet between the new house and the boundary
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I don't think so either. My mum's neigbours put in for planning permission to build so close to the boundary fence with just enough to walk around between and their windows would have been only 6 feet from my mum's bedroom window. It would have completely shaded most of her lovely garden too. Luckily it was refused on the grounds of access from the road.
Looking from the other side of things though, mum's bungalow is part of a small estate built in the 1970s - on what I can remember was open fields. The access road was an unmetalled track back then.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

The reason why the new house is so close to ours is that it will replace a redundant cow shed so he has to put the house in the boundaries of the current building.

As to appealing to the Parish Council, unfortunately the applicant is the chairman of the council and all his mates are standing up saying what a good idea the development is. There's a lot of back scratching going on.

I'm going to speak to the Enviromnetal Health Officer tomorrow as they were the ones to say that a 2 m high fence would be good enough. I'm going to try to get that in writing.
 
Before you do anything just check that your muck heap complies with the law or you could get a fine.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-horses-on-farms
If your neighbour is a farmer he will know the law, and there is a lot of money to be made. If you stables haven't got planning even if they have been there forever, get it.
What you have to remember is although it seems fixed, they have to follow planning law. If your heap is X amount of distance from the boundary and its too close, it will be too close whether there is a house there or not.
Where I live one of the local parish councillors is always objecting to something,(some of them are funny but he does upset a lot of people) the planning department just shrug as his objections have no basis in planning law. Also depending on how short you area is on housing they will want another house more than a muck heap.
I am surprised he is going for full planning, he could have tried permitted development.
 
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