Neighbours row over ‘prison’ wall which ‘blocks out sunlight’
A group of neighbours in Kent have been embroiled in a planning row over a “prison” wall after one side complained it was too high and blocks out their sunlight.
Allyson Halls and William East didn't initially have an issue when their neighbour Katie Beadle started work on her home in West Kingsdown, Kent. Her builders decided to construct a wall on top of her roof, that made it 70cm higher, after encountering drainage design problems.
However, they realised this did not comply with the planning permission and work was stopped. But Hall and East claim this has left them with a lack of light.
Beadle has also been left with a half-finished extension and has subsequently submitted three new applications to Sevenoaks Council to change the details of the project. These include lowering the height of the wall by constructing a larger pitched roof.
But the council is still investigating the initial planning breach and has twice refused proposed changes. The latest application to fix the height issues was put forward in March but has been deferred by planners, despite Beadle saying her house is “partially uninhabitable”.
Halls, 63, is hoping that the situation can be rectified before autumn arrives. She said: “As the extension is right on the boundary it is like living next to a prison wall...
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“Our garden is in shadow from October all the way round to March/April in the mornings. We’ve got this prison wall next to us – I just want to have our life back, I just want to be able to sit in my garden.”
‘Difficult situation’
Halls and East want their neighbours to return to the original approved plans.
Beadle has declined to comment but the planning application states that it wants to “finally resolve this difficult situation the applicant and her family have been left in”.
It adds: “They cannot continue to remain in the property in its unfinished state, and this ongoing situation is not in their best interests, or indeed, those of neighbouring properties having to contend with a construction site on their boundary.”
A council spokesman said officers were studying the current application and a decision will be made in due course.
How high can a wall be without planning permission in the UK?
The height of a wall at your home varies depending on where it is built. The height that must be adhered to depends on whether it is built at the back of the house or next to a highway used by vehicles.
No planning permission is needed if the no more than one metre in height next to such a highway. For a wall at the rear or side of a garden, you can build a wall up to two metres without requiring planning permission.
If a wall is over these heights, you will need planning permission to build it. Other rules also govern the need to seek planning permission, including if the property is a listed building or if the proposed wall falls into the curtilage of a listed building.
For an existing wall, the same rules apply, meaning you can increase the height but once that height goes above one or two metres, then planning permission should be sought.
Anyone seeking planning permission should either make an application via the Planning Portal website or send a paper application form for your local planning authority.
