It’s understandable to worry about potential objections from your neighbours when you’re planning improvements to your home. Many people assume that if a neighbour objects to your planning application, it is doomed. However, the reality of the planning system is more nuanced, and objections from neighbours often have less impact on the final decision than people might believe.
Councils are legally required to consult adjoining neighbours about planning applications and must take any representations received into account. Yet, case officers often do not pay close attention to neighbour objections, mostly because they have a good idea themselves whether they think a proposal is acceptable or not.
I worked as a case officer for years before becoming a planning consultant. The main thing that a case officer looks at when a new application lands on their desk is whether the proposal complies with the council’s planning policies and guidance. Neighbour comments are taken into account, but the case officer will rely mainly on their own assessment and judgement.
Some objections carry very little weight
This is partly because neighbour objections don’t always make much sense. They include matters that are not relevant to planning, such as a loss of property value, a loss of a private individual’s view, legal matters like boundary disputes or land ownership, or comments about the applicant’s personal character or motivation.
Some objections carry less weight because they are just copy-and-paste letters; it is obvious that one person has drafted up the response and asked several different people to send in copies. Petitions are also not very powerful – they include no detail of what the individual people signing the really think.
Lots of neighbour objections allege some kind of harm to them in terms of a loss of light, outlook or privacy. Planning officers have to take this very seriously, but whether a proposal causes unacceptable overshadowing or loss of outlook is evaluated against policies and supplementary guidance, which can be quite specific.
While decision-makers place a lot of weight on perceived harm to a neighbour’s living conditions, officers often attach very little weight to what the neighbours had to say in their objections when making their own objective assessment. Officer judgment, based on experience, plays a key role in assessing more intangible impacts, such as whether something feels ‘overbearing’.
300 objections to the ‘old bike shop’
In 2021, I applied to convert an old bicycle shop in south London into a three-bedroom house. I made an application under new permitted development rights (specifically Class MA, previously Class M) allowing the conversion of commercial premises into homes, which require an application for prior approval rather than full planning permission. The prior approval process is a more ‘light touch’ planning application, where the council assesses only a limited number of specific issues.
The proposal generated significant local opposition, with almost 300 objections primarily driven by residents’ affection for the bicycle shop, which had been operating in the premises for many years.
However, the planning system, especially under permitted development rights, doesn’t typically protect a specific individual business or occupier/ While local policies might seek to protect certain types of retail uses, the council generally cannot refuse prior approval solely to save a particular shop if the conversion meets the specific permitted development criteria.
Despite the substantial volume of objections expressing strong local sentiment, the prior approval application was granted because it met the required criteria for conversion under permitted development rights. The bicycle shop did close its original premises (though the owner found a new location nearby) and the conversion proceeded.
In some circumstances, objections do change the outcome
Of course, neighbour objections do sometimes have an impact. Occasionally, a neighbour’s objection can inadvertently draw the case officer’s attention to a planning concern they might have missed. For example, pointing out that a window affected by the proposal serves a habitable room (which is afforded more protection in planning terms), rather than a less important utility room, bathroom or hallway, can influence the officer’s assessment of light loss or outlook.
Highlighting differences in ground levels that affect how a development is perceived from a neighbour’s property can also be relevant. If the case officer was included to conclude that a 3m-tall extension was not going to cause any harm, the neighbour pointing out that their property sits of lower ground levels might affect that conclusion.
Although I have said that petitions and copy-and-paste responses carry little weight, it is also fair to say that a large volume of angry objection letters signals public concern. Even to case officers who have little time for moaning neighbours, receiving a large number of objections will cause them to take a closer look at an application.
In addition, the number of objections an application receives can determine whether or not it must be decided by the council’s planning committee (of elected councillors) rather than by your case officer. Decisions by the planning committee can be a bit more unpredictable, partly because its members have one eye on public opinion and their prospects for re-election. In general, it is best that applications do not go to committee.
Ultimately though, for most planning applications, the decision hinges on whether your proposal objectively complies with relevant planning policies and guidance, particularly concerning design and its impact on neighbours’ living conditions, as assessed by the council. The simple fact that neighbours are angry or upset is not, in and of itself, important.
Don’t upset your neighbours
Finally, it’s worth noting that while neighbour objections might not prevent planning permission, it is still a good idea to maintain good relations with your neighbours.
Neighbour complaints are the most common trigger for planning enforcement investigations, even after planning permission has been granted.
You may also need to keep your neighbours onside to help with the building process – obtaining party wall awards or getting their help with access for building works.
A neighbour who feels they were not kept informed could potentially make the construction process more difficult or complain to the council about the building work, leading to unwelcome enforcement visits. Keeping neighbours reasonably content can help avoid such issues.
Also you have to live with them long term!
For more detailed advice on how to successfully navigate the planning maze, check out my book: How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets.