“OUR little piece of paradise has been shot down in flames,” Rod Fleming told The Border Watch this week, pointing out the imposing metal framework towering over his back fence.
“I feel like a prisoner in my own backyard.”
The city’s independent Council Assessment Panel (CAP) approved plans for Mr Fleming’s neighbour to construct a 3.4m outbuilding less than a metre from Mr Fleming’s back fence – despite no consultation with Mr Fleming.
“I don’t blame our neighbour – it’s not his fault – he has done the right thing and applied through the council and had his plans ticked off,” Mr Fleming said.
“Clearly no one from the development assessment panel came here to have a look at how this might impact us.
“Once it’s finished we will have no sunlight in our backyard – it will be like the Arctic Circle back here.”
The CAP, which consists of four independent members and one elected council member, approved the development application at its January meeting.
“There was no consultation with us whatsoever – the first we knew of this was when they started building,” Mr Fleming said.
“You would think the planning assessors would at least send the neighbours a letter in advance, but we were completely unaware this was happening.
“I’m a ratepayer too – I pay over $1200 in rates on a pension and now this unit we own is not worth two bob.
“We will walk out the back door every day and get slapped in the face with this big shed and the value of this unit will be depleted – who would buy it?”
City growth general manager Judy Nagy said proposed developments were publicly announced only when development applications met certain criteria.
“Developments are gazetted, or announced in the paper, only if they meet certain criteria in terms of dimensions and use and this structure did not,” she said.
“Letters are sent to neighbours notifying them of the development depending on the area and the type of construction and this shed did not fit that criteria.”
She said there was no avenue for Mr Fleming to dispute the development given it had already been approved by the independent panel.
“The application has been appropriately processed and approved by the independent assessors within state regulations – there is no way to dispute the development within our current legislative framework.”
Mr Fleming said the assessment panel had failed to “see the bigger picture.”
“My wife has ongoing health issues and we like to get her outside for some vitamin D – we used to sit out here in the sun on a winter’s day for a yarn and a cuppa,” he said.
“Now it will be dark as anything out here.
“There is a six metre gap to the next fence and no house on that side so I don’t understand why they couldn’t build it over that way – if someone had been on site to check it out we might not have this issue.
“We have been told by council that we have no rights to dispute this because regulations have been changed in the last few years – it is unbelievable.”
The owner of the property on which the shed is being constructed declined to comment.
