Hello
Can anyone please provide some advice/guidance on the following problem???
I bought my house in 2005, and at the time found that the neighbouring property appeared to have been renovated and extended across an alleyway, to adjoin my house. The Land Registry maps showed an alleyway between both buildings, and the previous owner advised us that this had been the case.
Despite numerous requests from our solicitor, the local council would not provide any information about whether this development was in accordance with planning/building control. Eventually, they cut their losses and made the assumption that all was in order. (This was before changes to the Data Protection Act).
The neighbouring property later changed hands, being purchased by investors and used as student lettings. We have experienced noise issues since then, and came to the conclusion that this extension had been attached to directly our building with an additional wall- we can hear every squeak of the floorboards more so than within the rooms of our own house!!
My question is this–I feel that the development was carried out without permission, maybe around 2000/2001. Can I now request that the council provide me with details of any such developments on the house (under Data Protection Act), and if it was without permission- can I do anything about it in terms of ensuring that the development is to safe standards???