Council Wants to Build a Car Park Next to my House, can I Refuse? If you want to know how your DIY projects could be affected by building and planning regulations, click here to post questions and view answers

[rockythunder]

Hi,
The Council owns land next to my house and have informed me they want to create a 20 car capacity, 24 hour, public car park.
The land has a wooden fence bordering my garden and a chain-link fence on the other side bordering a single carriage way. The Council wants to remove the chain-link fence and instead put metal girders so people can access the site from the single carriage way. We live in a high crime area with a recent rise in drug and gang crime and anti-social behaviour and this makes me fearful because of the easy access to the site and the 24 hour opening. I'm also concerned about the noise the site will generate from the cars and footfall.
Do you know if any way I can oppose this car park or any regulation I can cite to ensure my safety and enjoyment of my house and garden isn't compromised.

Thank you in advance.

[oconnope]

You will be able to object to any application in the normal way. The success of the application will depend upon the current use of the site, but it seems to me as if there are plenty of legitimate planning objections that could be made. Unfortunately, you have no right to appeal the Council's decision, unless you apply to the High Court for judicial review. If an application is approved, and there is a substantial impact on your property, you could complain to the local government ombudsman.