Overshadowing problems

We are currently trying to build a double storey house and the plans in the council
Our neighbour has a double storey house and she has asked for shadow diagrams which we provided and as per the builder the diagram meets all the requirements and she will be getting adequate sunlight as per council requirements as it is category 2 went for public notification and she has opposed the build .
her house is a very old house which we tried to get a floor plan for her house to locate the windows but council doesn’t have hers it been really upsetting as we are doing our level best her main concerns are that our house will block her view from the bedroom of her second floor
We have 3 small kids and wanted a family home .Builder suggests we get a town planner
Has anyone else had been in similar situation like to hear inputs

We may have a similar problem our neighbors has voiced privacy concerns around a second story window and his yard. This same neighbor build a 2 story home with a studio and granny flat we have measured the window is over 7 meters from his house and not near any bedrooms or bathrooms so we arent prepared to move it.

Is that 7M wall to wall? Depends on horizontal location also. You can download the regulations that apply to overlooking, overshadowing is a little more complicated, based on the position of the sun at a certain time of year and day. Here is an overlooking extract:

So who drew the plans - the builder? Whoever did them should have been aware of the rules for shadowing - all easily available on your council website. The neighbour can jump up and down all they like but if your plans are compliant with their guidelines then you should be fine.

@ Holelot. The same goes for overlooking rules. At the worst the council may make part of your condition of consent that you have either a privacy screen or translucent glass in a couple of windows.

Stewie

What Stewie said. As long as you meet the council requirements (which whoever drew the plans should have taken into account), what the neighbour thinks is irrelevant.
Of course if you want to be a good neighbour and discuss with them and try and keep them happy that is up to you .

If you are applying for a planning permit that is a different story

Ill check but I think its 7 meters from wall to wall thanks this is very helpfull!

Hi thanks very helpful were looking into it at the moment one of the most annoying parts which I have told the neighbor is there will actually be more privacy after as I can see what your watching on TV from my kitchen window at the moment

Stewie
Thanks ,the builder did the plans but now they are asking us to pay for planning consultant( town planner) which will cost approximately 3500 to 5000. $ it’s too stressful for us at the moment neighbours house is very old and when asked for floor plan to determine her windows she doesn’t have one even council does not have her floor plans do shadow diagrams has to be done based on information she gives as per the builder shadow diagrams looks good but council needs more input looks like we are caught in between inexperienced builder and the neighbours don’t know what to expect from CAP , will they favour a building application or reject it

You should of had a building designer draw the plans to start with. A lot of builders who buy a Cad program are OK with simple stuff but when it gets a bit more complex they seem to have problems. A draftie or building designer would have been able to come up with everything that the council required from the get go.
Drawing the neighbours house for the shadow diagrams is what we have to do when they are required. You just need the external measurements of the side facing you and maybe 3m of each of the front and back of her house. The window sills etc should have been annotated on the contour survey. Once again standard stuff.

Stewie

Hi stewie
Thanks for your input the plan was designed by the building designer unfortunately all these things are happening we are not technical and we are in the position to believe what builder tells us unfortunately I think the shadow diagram what we have produced has not satisfied our neighbour

You have to bear in mind that no matter how many documents you provide by all sorts of qualified people the neighbour might never be satisfied. As long as you have done the drawings as per the councils guidelines then you should have been fine. As for not being technically minded, the requirements for shadow diagrams should be up on their website and are pretty simple. I can post up the diagrams I did for our place for reference if you like.

"and the neighbours don’t know what to expect from CAP"
By the way, what is CAP???

Stewie

Might be Council Approved Plans?

Thanks Sparkyf. I've never seen that acronym before.

Stewie

Me either, I am guessing, sounds like it may be right??

Thanks Stewie
CAP council Assessment Panel
In South Australia if council can’t decide on a plan they move it to CAP which is a 5 member panel they decide about the building approval
If they reject the plan supporting neighbours we will have to change the plan that’s what our understanding at present

Was close, definitely Council Approval related!

I think we have all gone a little off track. The original title is "overshadowing", but the neighbor is not complaining about the shadowing, she's complaining about loss of some view!

Victorian regulations DDO14 cover that when building a dwelling that will affect neighbor's views. There should be something similar for all states, this is our one in Geelong, it may give some ideas:






Yes, she may lose "some" view from a single window? Is that the only window with a view? Did she expect the empty land to stay empty forever? That's always the risk of building in an empty estate, you never know what the next neighbor is going to build that may block your views!

Our block is built up all around, so we have to consider views, overlooking, overshadowing, street facades, lots of things, to comply with council requirements!