I believe our forward-looking Government has intentions on scrapping the ancient homeowner’s protection of ‘Right to Light’ regarding Planning issues.
Genius…
We already have the worst area size, light quality and construction quality in British building regulations compared to the main Europe countries, and now we can sit in our pokey boxes in the gloom with no protection at all from greedy developers.
I was yesterday chatting about this with a good fiend who lives in a flat on Colwyn prom. His lounge overlooks a car park in Penrhos road. The owner of this land wishes to build a four floor block of apartments there. I think its been about seven years and eight applications rejected so far, not by the planning officers (who seem very eager to have this built), but by the councillors on the planning committee who continue to agree that this building will block light to the living rooms of this Victorian apartment building.
He showed me a letter from the company that did a light report for the developer. The report has a chart showing predicted light figures should the building be built, and effects to residents. It was sent to the agent working for the developer. It states that the figures are only just above the recommended light allowance, that the figures are based only on light outside the windows of this building and above all this; they can’t even guarantee that these figures will be accurate if the building is built. So much for these reports that Conwy council planning officers follow! The letter was in the planning file and no one but the residents picked up on it! Frightening isn’t it?
Removing rights to light will unquestionably diminish the ‘harmful effects’ clauses that are used to protect people facing the prospects of a brick wall outside their living rooms. (Which are the only windows protected by Conwy)
If the right for light law was scrapped, there would be no way a resident could get damages from a developer bricking up light and supplying flim-flam light reports. Surely this is the last protection for people living around potential building sites?
My mate is a member of a residents group, and although I used to think this type of thing was a waste of time, I have to agree that they have done a huge amount battling the council officers and this millionaire developer over the years. Maybe more areas should get together and fight things. Maybe Conwy would be a better place for it.
I am told that the developer is the same man that owns the Rothesay hotel. And locals believe he is also tied up in yet another planning application in the same road, to build a modern block between the Denbighshire arts society and a grade 2 listed building. I think it was the house built and lived in by the chap who built most of Colwyn’s buildings, but I can’t remember his name.
As my friend said, the Rothesay is granted permission to be demolished and rebuilt as a 40+ luxury apartment building. It will sleep 120+ people and have 40 car parking spaces. Wow, this area is going to be gridlocked with cars.
Mind you, they scrapped the ‘one parking space for each predicted occupancy’ planning law to make it easy on the dveloper, but we all know how easy it is to park outside our homes these days…
