Changes to planning once house is built!

[squealeyhealey]

I would be most grateful for any advice regarding planning for my self build. I am required to and have complied with the council’s requirement to install opaque glass in the two upstairs windows on the side of my house, that overlook my neighbour. My neighbour has also asked me to make the ground floor glass door opaque, even though this is not a planning requirement. Since I’ve not done so, they have contacted the planning department & the senior planner came round to inspection the house. He said in hindsight they should have required the glass door to be opaque. My neighbour has installed a fence on his side of the boundary, so I’d not installed the privet hedge that I had intended to. The planner asked me to agree to opaque glass ilo the hedge. Since I don’t really want opaque glass & definitely don’t want to agree to change the planning ilo of a hedge! I’m putting in the hedge as shown on the approved plans.

My question is - If I have complied with all the requirements for planning. Can the Council force me to make a glass door opaque even though it was not a requirement of the original planning approval?

[Alan Ambrose]

In a word, ‘no’.. does the fence not do the same job, anyway?

[ProDave]

Planning usually says you must plant a hedge.

 

Nothing about maintaining it.  If it died for some mysterious reason............

[JohnMo]

3 hours ago, ProDave said:

Planning usually says you must plant a hedge.

 

Nothing about maintaining it.  If it died for some mysterious reason............

We had a full landscaping plan, but at time of sign off most hadn't been done, BC had zero interest, just interested in the actual house build was over plan. 

 

Being anal. Your agreed plans for planning and building control, is a legal document. You are not allowed to vary from the agreed plans, so actually installing frosted glass where it hasn't been stipulated is a breach of planning. Prior to doing so,  you need permission. So a throw away statement from planning means nothing really.

[Spinny]

Did neighbour not speak to you before calling in planning ? Seems a bit unfriendly.

If there is a fence or hedge it is difficult to understand why it would need to be opaque, unless you are both 8ft tall surely you can't see into each other's houses. There must presumably be some reason the Planner thinks it should indeed be opaque - severely overlooking to their property in some way ? Raised up 4ft ? Funny L shaped plot ?

 

We debated having a frosted side door, then decided on partly frosted but found it would cost a lot, then chose to splash out on a venetian blind inside the double glazed clear glass door. This works well because you can keep it down or up as suits for light or privacy. Our neighbour has now built a 4.2m high wall at the boundary anyway.

 

Maybe if you talk to the neighbour you can understand his specific concerns, explain why you havn't frosted it. Neighbour relations can be tricky - did they object to your plans ?

 

Don't forget you can get stick on frosting sheets to create frosting on any parts of a clear door. Then if the neighbour moves or dies in a strange incident involving poisoned vegetables, you can take it off again.

[Nickfromwales]

Tell the to go GF. As above, tell them you’ve built as per the permission APPROVED by them. 
 

Planning officers are just insane. 
 

Neighbour is a tosser. 

[kandgmitchell]

Agree with all the above. An individual officer has no authority to vary a planning permission. The permission is given by the Planning Authority either through their planning committee or by a specific designated officer (usually the chief planning officer) via a proper scheme of delegation. If you've complied with the planning permission requirements then that is that, they can't have a second informal go.

[Alan Ambrose]

Neighbours are often confused about when the planning process starts and stops. I know mine are - they're still bitching about everything even though permission was granted 18 months ago. As long as you build to the approved plans, the discussion is over when the permission is granted.

[Bancroft]

2 hours ago, kandgmitchell said:

An individual officer has no authority to vary a planning permission.

After the inane process our planning department put us through to get our planning, the devil in me says the planning officer should be formally reported to the head of planning for attempting to alter a decision made by the planning committee without the proper authority.

 

That might help to put the Little Hitler back in his box and stop him trying it on with anyone else.

[Nickfromwales]

36 minutes ago, Bancroft said:

After the inane process our planning department put us through to get our planning, the devil in me says the planning officer should be formally reported to the head of planning for attempting to alter a decision made by the planning committee without the proper authority.

 

That might help to put the Little Hitler back in his box and stop him trying it on with anyone else.

I’d have asked the cheeky twat for his official complaints procedure. And then asked him to officially respond as to how a neighbour could bully him into trying to push this condition retrospectively.

[Temp]

Are the  neighbours windows and doors your side  obscure glass?

[Temp]

On 05/06/2026 at 00:24, squealeyhealey said:

My question is - If I have complied with all the requirements for planning. Can the Council force me to make a glass door opaque even though it was not a requirement of the original planning approval?

 

No.

 

In theory it is possible for planning permission to be cancelled but it virtually never happens because the council are liable for damages. Would certainly never happen in a situation like yours.