Who sends out the plans? The council or the homeowner/architect? Who would be negligent? Surely a better system than objection should be that the neighbors send approval of planning. Also, I think this ground floor may be 10cm further out than it should be but need to double check in day light.
Good shout. Not amazing but certainly helps. +2 points for you. I'm still not sure on this party wall bit.
Have a read of this it might help. https://www.realhomes.com/advice/party-wall-agreements-know-the-rules
In my opinion you should have been offered a party wall agreement and can stop the work until one is in place. An independent surveyor, paid for by your neighbour, will oversee all further work.
Unless things have changed dramatically since I left that side of my disciplines, the Council doesn't send the actual plans to the neighbours......they just inform you an application has been made and invite you to inspect the drawings and documents either online or in person at the planning office. It is rare they would inform you of changes unless they are major....once you have been advised an application is progressing, they consider it is up to you to follow the progress of the application. AL
His first application was approved. He then made 3 separate applications, 1 after another (after approval) making it bigger or bigger. I and my neighbour the other side both do not recall having notification of these three subsequent planning applications.
There's a Mott the Hoople song from my youth going around my head ..."Violence , V-I-O-Lence, it's the only way to make them see sense.." ... that may not be much help, so I'll shad upa my face....
If the subsequent permissions were made separate then you should have been informed and official notices should have been put up on lamp posts etc nearby. If they were changes to the original planning application then I'm afraid you wouldn't have gotten anything. It is a very sneaky way to do it. Get permission and then change it in the hope to deceive.
The first application was not changed. There were 4 separate applications in total. We were only advised of the first one. If all they did was to change the notice on a lamp post by removing the old and putting up the new I do not think it is reasonable to assume/expect neighbours to be checking and comparing the number on the application notice on a weekly basis. What he has done is at least sneaky and underhand. I will certainly use this as a learning experience!
All the notice (on a pole or whatever ) does is to invite neighbours / local population to inspect and comment on a planning application that has been lodged at the planning office. This means all the documents and drawings can be freely examined online or at the office.....this includes the legality of the application certificate which in some cases means 'Notice has to Served' on some individuals (not necessarily neighbours, but maybe a person who really owns the land). When the application is lodged, apart from a notice being stuck on a pole, only immediate neighbours will be invited by post to examine or comment on the application. Changes to an approval a never advertised as such unless the change is dramatic ie; three houses instead of two......but that would normally require a new application.......If a different window style or layout was applied for, you wouldn't be notified....you would have to keep looking at the fresh documents deposited. Many times I have lodged two identical applications which receive individual registration.....that meant if I knew the application would be refused; I could go to Appeal and the application would shut down until the Appeal was heard. But the other application would remain open, giving me a chance to renegotiate the design etc etc etc and get an approval anyway.
There never was changes to any approval, they were new planning permission applications. "When the application is lodged, apart from a notice being stuck on a pole, only immediate neighbours will be invited by post to examine or comment on the application.". Both direct neighbours, either side of the property, did not receive and notification of the 3 subsequent applications.
If you are certain of that ie; each application has a different registration number, and you were not aware they had been lodged, then yes....you are correct, the council have been negligent.....but I am afraid that appears to be par for the course around here, so I guess it happens everywhere.
