Ozva AdminAN ANGRY COUPLE say £30,000 has been wiped off the value of their house due to a neighbour’s ‘intrusive’ bungalow.
Roger Smith, 59, and his wife Sharon, 61, from the Nottinghamshire village of Newthorpe, have been left distraught by the impact of a newly built bungalow next door.
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They say it’s so close they can touch the roof from their garden
The bungalow overlooks the Smiths’ garden and was the subject of a fierce battle over planning permissions that dragged on for years.
The plans for the bungalow had been rejected several times by Broxtowe Town Council and once by the Government Planning Inspectorate when appealed by the applicant.
But the Planning Inspectorate allowed another appeal in July 2018 and planning permission was granted so construction could begin.
The house was built two years ago after the land, with planning permission, was sold to a new owner, according to the Smiths, who say the property has brought them misery ever since.
Mr. Smith told the Nottingham Post:: “It overshadows our garden completely. We have had to put up blinds to maintain our privacy and the light has been spoiled.
“It has definitely devalued our house as well. I just can’t believe it was ever built to be honest.”
Ms Smith said: “He is so intrusive and close. You can reach out and touch the roof from our garden.”
The husband and wife say they even tried to buy the land to prevent the bungalow from being built, but they were unsuccessful.
They say an independent valuation of the property found that the bungalow next door had shaved up to £30,000 off the price of their home since the bungalow was built.
Mr Smith said: “We were told he could have gotten between £25,000 and £30,000 out of the house. Our neighbors are not happy either, one of them has put conifers along his house to block it.:
Ms Smith added: “We can’t do anything right now, but we really want to highlight the problem. The applicant has the right to appeal at that level, but we do not.”
An inspector’s report detailing the Planning Inspectorate’s decision acknowledged that a small proportion of the proposal’s rear wall and all of its roof would be visible from the Smiths’ property.
But the inspector added that “the modest height and shallow ceiling would mean it would not obstruct the view from this neighboring property.”
The Inspector said: “I have carefully considered the effect of this proposal on the occupants of these two neighboring dwellings and on other surrounding properties.
“Overall, however, I do not find that the proposal on Appeal A unacceptably harms the living conditions of neighboring residents.”
Planning agent Steve Dance, speaking on behalf of applicant Mark Copeland, who previously obtained the permit and sold the land, told the newspaper: “We had several appeals, lost one and won another.
“Actually, the one we lost was designed to avoid going through his garden, so the bungalow that got the consent goes through his garden, which we won on appeal.
“We fought long and hard to get a development on the site, it was totally appropriate for at least one home.
“We had several designs rejected and that we designed to avoid the impact on the neighbors.
“We won it fairly on appeal, both neighbors were consulted and I’m sure they objected.”
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