A bigger extension but questions around elevations and right to light

2 years ago

Hi All,
We currently have a 3m rear extension and are looking at options to turn this into a 6m rear extension but I have questions around elevation, right to light etc.
In the picture you can see our current extension and the house to the left and right of ours.
The house to the right has large side and rear extensions already (the house next to them is detached).

We’d like to:

extend to 6 meters and change to a flat roof
raise two lengths of fence panels to the same height as the higher panels directly beside the house which will allow for a same level decking area

We want to keep internal floors all level - will our much lower garden cause us any issues here?
Will we be blocking their light too much? The end of the extension would be 3m from their patio doors.

It’s very early days and we will of course speak to the neighbours and seek full planning permission but do you think we will run into any issues?

Thanks for your time.

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Comment (1)

hedgehog99
2 years ago
I see that the neighbours' extension doesn't extend 6 meters all the way across, but lines up with your 3 meter extension where the two houses meet. At the least I'd consider doing something similar. If you add a further 3 meters all the way across, you will be creating a very dark little courtyard for them which I think they'd very likely object to.

Keeping your internal floor levels the same will mean that your decking area will be very high. Difficult to tell from the picture as I don't know if the garden's slope is exaggerated, but it would be a good idea to measure the vertical drop from the internal floor level, to the point where the end of your decking will meet the garden. That will be the height of your decking from the ground. And consider whether it will in fact cut you off from using your garden.

You may also need quite a bit in the way of retaining walls which are expensive to build and clad (I speak from direct experience - we are currently building a 4m extension plus 3.5m terrace on a garden which slopes downwards. The retaining walls are costing an arm and a leg. We have a couple of steps down from the existing house into the extension, but the end of the terrace is still really high up from the garden).

Just some things to consider. I assume you'll be engaging an architect and if not, I'd strongly encourage you to do so - they may well come up with some ingenious solutions to create extra space in a way which doesn't impose on the neighbours and still allows you good access to the garden.
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A bigger extension but questions around elevations and right to light

Comment (1)

hedgehog99

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