I have very limited experience of local planning regulations. However, if you Google "grounds for objection to planning application" a number of pointers come up, many of them from local authorities. (I see that traffic concerns may come into this.)

In addition, I have found in the past that my local government planning department has been willing to talk to me at an informal level.

I wonder, too, whether it might be a good idea to speak to your neighbours who may also be thinking of objecting to see whether a combined approach might be worth considering.

Look at the Council's policy on conversion of properties to flats.

Forget who is living there now, planning permission applies to buildings not individuals so once pp is secured the properties could be sold tomorrow.

Highways and parking are also areas to consider, local amenity, changing nature of the street, area etc.

Listed buildings? Conservation area close by? If so has impact on these been assessed?

If the owner has turned the house into an HMO (house of multiple occupation) there will be lots of conditions that the owner needs to comply with to make it legal, planning will be the least of those.

But its very difficult to object until you have evidence as to whats actually what is happening. As examples you cannot complain about noise until its become a nuisance and you cannot complain about cars blocking drives until they have done so. Neither of those are planning issues unless there are clear conditions attached and since there is no planning currently I would guess they would be a civil matter.

I can remember submitting a planning application for a scheme at work and after our neighbours had placed the objections the council convened a site meeting for the objectors to state their case and I also was given to opportunity to state our case. Following this there was a full planning meeting which we could attend but not speak. Basically the objectors made total fools of themselves, you could see the local councillors and planners looks of disbelief. One neighbour produced photos to show the parking issues and mess they created which were in black and white with an assortment of Morris Oxford and Cortina type cars. The senior planner asked when the photo was taken and the answer was as I expected, in the mid 60's, almost 50 years before the meeting.

We were given approval with no conditions and the prime objector sold up. We had no further issues.

It is worth finding out if retrospective planning permission is subject to the same scrutiny as it would have received had permission been sought before the work started. The local authority may have refused planning permission at the start, but they may be reluctant to issue an enforcement notice now the work is complete.

I also find it strange that someone in the building trade (plumbing/heating) would be unaware of the requirement for planning permission. Deliberately or knowingly failing to apply for permission may indicate an expectation that refusal or conditions would be attached. This may give the LA the resolve to issue permission with a number of conditions or refuse it altogether.

OK Latest - 13 people objected (there are only 8 more houses on our lane), with objections from neighbouring streets, mostly due to the parking.

One of neighbours who lives next to the property in question, said that the decision had been delayed a few days (13th Feb) so we should hear next week.

I was very surprised (and so was the developer who I heard in our local pub talking about how small minded and bigoted we all were), that so many people objected. Emotions are running quite high.

I'll update next week or as soon as I know more.

As always - thanks for the advice and support.

Paul

Very good of you to update us, Paul.

A pity that the developer didn't use a surveyor of Happy Blue's calibre, who might have told him at a early stage that this wouldn't work - and not to start work without planning permission.