I applied for planning permission to use one room in my house for child minding and I have had 37 objections. Surely this is not normal?
Is it guaranteed now that my application will be refused?
Neighbours have been going round with petitions and claiming that kids playing in the garden would be too noisy and that parents dropping them up and picking them up would be dangerous.
We speak to a planning expert about your application to use one room in your house for child minding
MailOnline Property expert Myra Butterworth replies: The objections do not mean that your application will automatically refused.
Indeed, one of the myths of the planning system is that an application will be approved if it gets no objections and will be refused if the neighbours are up in arms.
We speak to a leading planning expert who explains more about how to progress – and indeed even if you need planning permission at all.
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Martin Gaine, a chartered town planner, replies: It is stressful and intimidating when you submit what you think to be a reasonable and uncontroversial planning application, and a band of your neighbours whip themselves up into a frenzy.
The good news is that neighbours can make as much noise as they like, but it doesn’t mean that your application is heading for a refusal.
Planning is not a popularity contest. The number and strength of objections is not the deciding factor.
It is one of the myths of the planning system that an application will be approved if it gets no objections and will be refused if the neighbours are up in arms.
The planners take account of local comments, but then make their own assessment based on planning policies and the facts of the case.
I read objection letters every day and, while some are reasonable and thoughtful, others lose grip with reality. I remember a letter last year in which the neighbour compared the prospect of a new house being built in her village to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Of course, we can’t just brand all neighbours who take the trouble to write in as troublemakers or Nimbys. Many do so reluctantly and are aware that their letter may harm their relationship with their neighbours.
As a planning consultant, I write neighbour objections on behalf of clients, and always make my comments as reasonable and constructive as possible.
And in a case like this, where 37 objections have been received, even the most tin-eared case officer will be forced to take a closer look at the application, even if they first thought it to be a straightforward approval.
A large number of angry letters usually reflects genuine disquiet about a planning proposal, and it is best that you try to get to the bottom of what is really worrying your neighbours. Whatever the outcome of your application, you will have to continue living next to them.
A large number of objections does not mean that a planning application will be refused
On the face of it, your proposal seems very modest. It proposes childminding from just one room in your house. But boisterous children playing in the house or garden can be noisy, and parents dropping off and picking up their kids can cause disruption and parking problems.
Your first step is to read the objections carefully and try and understand what the real concerns are.
Then speak to your case officer to see if there is a way in which they could be overcome.
Perhaps you could implement measures to limit noise, by only using the garden for play between certain hours, for example.
You could also address parking concerns, perhaps by showing that the children live locally and are generally dropped off on foot, or by implementing staggered drop off and pick up times.
If it might help, you could consider restricting your operating hours or limiting the number of children that will be cared for at any one time.
As a final thought, it may be that you do not need planning permission at all.
The Government’s guidance on working from home – updated just last month – says that home businesses do not need planning permission where they don’t cause a major change to the character of the area in terms of traffic, parking or noise and disturbance, for example.
If you are minding a small number of children on your own, I don’t think you need permission at all. If it is a larger number of children, or you hire staff to assist, it is more likely that permission is required.
Martin Gaine is a chartered town planner and author of ‘How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets’.
Read more: (just-planning.co.uk) Property planning advice and expertise with planning expert Martin Gaine
