Homeowner furious after neighbour builds 10ft home office blocking sunlight from garden
There's nothing like starting your day off with a bit of natural sunlight, but according to this homeowner, he's been robbed of this simple pleasure thanks to his neighbour.
Gary Burgess has been left furious after the couple living next door revamped their garage and added almost 16 inches to its height.
He claims he is now living in the shadow of the structure that the occupants have converted into a home office and he is 'not at all happy' that the council have 'let them get away with it'.
Gary explained that during the 33-years he has lived at his property in Poole, Dorset, he has put a lot of time, money and effort into sprucing up his north-facing back garden.
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But unfortunately for the retired finance manager, the garage which he believes is an eyesore suddenly shot up in height. He claims the looming structure has ruined the ambiance of his outdoor space.
"I spent a fortune on my back garden and put the seating area where the sun comes through," he fumed. "Now I've got to live next door to them when they have created this problem."
The 62-year-old said that his neighbour's renovation work got underway while he was out of the country and claimed that they did not inform him about what they intended to do with their garage.
When he returned to his pad, he was 'incensed' after noticing the outbuilding now stands at three-metres tall and had been kitted out with a skylight.
Gary said: "He said they told me about it, but all they said was they were going to redo the roof because it was in disrepair. They never once mentioned building up."
His neighbours, who have a four-bedroom detached property, said the extra head height would allow them to use the garage as office space so they could work from home.
However, they did not seek planning permission before beginning the project.
Complaints were lodged with the BCP Council, the local authority who supports residents in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, that suggested the work went way beyond permitted development.
The people living next door to Gary were then informed they had to apply for retrospective planning permission to keep their home office.
After a council official visited the site, the pair were given the green light and informed it could stay as is.
Despite Gary's protests that the structure drastically restricted the amount of sunlight entering his garden, planning officer Celyn Hanks said any shading was only 'limited to the late evening hours' and was 'not materially greater than the existing situation'.
The report stated: "Although it is evident that it leads to some shading, it is restricted to the rear part of the garden immediately adjacent to the boundary with the application site.
"As such, it does not result in unacceptable harm to the amenities of the occupants. It is considered that the outbuilding has no overbearing impact on the neighbour.
"On balance, while there is a degree of harm arising from the scheme, this is limited primarily to some overshadowing of the garden area and is not sufficient to warrant refusal of planning permission."
Gary says he has been left outraged by the council's decision.
"I can't argue against what's allowed under permitted development, but they have built up on that and the council have let them get away with it," he said.
"It's sending the message you can just do whatever you want and they pass it. I've got an extension but I went about it the right way. It's very back-handed.
"The council said it would only affect me in the evening. But the garden faces north so we only get the sunshine in the summer and it's going to be even less now because of the height of this garage.
"All I was asking was that they bring the height down to the allowed height. Why have they allowed it to go over three metres considering the family did it without any planning or consultation with the council?
"It's very frustrating. What's the point of having the rules? I'm not at all happy and now I'm going to be stuck with this. I have been in the house for 33 years and I like things to be nice."
LADbible has contacted the BCP Council for comment.
Olivia Burke