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Moseley Letter Box

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Apparently it is the subject of an enforcement investigation by the council planning dept. There is an article in the Birmingham Mail will post link when I have my laptop on. House on corner of Oxford Road and School Road according to the article.
 
Obviously there is a thin strip of land between the pavement and the wall which must be owned by the council so that will be the first problem. The second one is that I note he has no dropped kerb access and no pavement crossover. So a crossover access or dropped kerb has never been applied for. So in reality every time they cross over the pavement in a vehicle an offence is committed. An offence has also been committed in digging up the pavement and paving it and not being a public works contractor. When these issues and perhaps more have been addressed perhaps they can discuss moving the PO box. It's not that big a job a mate of mine and his partner used to move them all the time in the 70's when most of the PO boxes on corners had to be moved. it was a done job in two or three hours, but there again they were contractors and not direct labour.
 
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A transit-type van in the disputed entrance and two white cars on the front entrance. Either well to do, or converted to multiple occupation, possibly without permission for that too. Certainly needs investigating by the planners. Many houses in School Road have been in multiple occupation since just after WW2 - my late uncle had a flat in number 57 in the 1950s before moving to Worcester.

But whether he likes it or not, planning regulations must apply to everyone. Planning regulations are a lot more stringent here in Crete and the fines very heavy. A friend of mine just paid the authorities 16,000 euros to regularise unauthorised work, and he couldn't sell the property without.

Maurice
 
I fully agree with the previous comments with regard to planning regulations. I recently had the driveway of my (very modest) 3-bedroom semi widened, due to issues I was having with access & egress due to vehicles parked directly opposite & the narrowness of the highway. I did all of this properly & was very careful to follow the rules by matching the width of the extended driveway with a corresponding extension to my dropped kerb (just from 3 dropped stones to 5). I applied to my local Council for planning permission (£90, non-refundable of course if denied) & then the cost of the dropped kerb work was half as much again as the cost of the driveway extension; plus the dropped kerb extension had - for good reasons - to be done by an approved contractor. These rules are there for good reasons & anybody who thinks that they can flout them deserves to be taken to task, in my opinion!
 
totally agree with you andy...the historical post box was there first and must remain..of course we dont actually know the whole story yet but i do find it hard to believe that planning permission was granted to build a drive around the post box..will follow this with interest

lyn
 
Quite right Lyn -the form on which I applied for my dropped kerb widening contained a specific question with regard to whether any items of street furniture were located within the area of the proposed dropped kerb extension. Incidentally it wasn't just an issue of changing the type of kerbstone, the footpath had to be dug up across the width of the driveway extension, from my property boundary to the highway, strengthened sufficiently to take the weight of a vehicle & then relaid.
 
Andy64 said:
Quite right Lyn -the form on which I applied for my dropped kerb widening contained a specific question with regard to whether any items of street furniture were located within the area of the proposed dropped kerb extension. Incidentally it wasn't just an issue of changing the type of kerbstone, the footpath had to be dug up across the width of the driveway extension, from my property boundary to the highway, strengthened sufficiently to take the weight of a vehicle & then relaid.
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well i would think andy that if that specific question applies to everyone its sounding a bit like going through customs..ticking nothing to declare and hoping you are not pulled aside:rolleyes: but as said earlier lets await the outcome

lyn
 
It does sound a bit like that Lyn - however, following receipt of an application, my Council then carry out a site visit (funded through the £90) to check that the situation's in accordance with the information entered on the application form, therefore anything which hasn't been declared on the form would be picked up during the Planning Officer's visit? Yes, let's see what the outcome is.

Andy
 
Once a lovely house. Now ruined over many years by present owner. Long history of alterations without planning permission etc. Battles with planning people who seem unable to enforce anything on him. Neighbours have been waiting for this to happen with drive etc. Hideous gate. Cement splattered over post box. Don't hold your breath waiting for planners to do anything! He clearly thinks he can get away with this once again.
 
As there is no dropped kerb and neither are there any yellow lines evident I suppose he cannot reasonably object to anyone parking in front of his 'gates'.
 
If they haven't gone along the correct process of applying for planning permission, then I hope he has to re instate it as it previously was, and the post box remains were it is.
Otherwise this is anarchy and we all know were that would lead.
 
Just been looking on streetview. It looks as if the pillar box was originally outside the fence which went across the side garden of the house. The owner has now created a large access gate into the garden and where it has been built means the pillar box is in the way. The front of the house is round the corner.
 
Not very knowledgeable about these things, but if the owner has made a new entrance, does he have right of way across the pavement?
 
Mike he has to get planning permission and he also has to get dropped kerbs and a crossover both installed by a contractor licensed to the local Council.
 
On streetview the gateway (ie hole in fence) has been there for at least 10 years (I think that is how far back the streetview shows) but it is only now that they have block paved the "driveway" and complained about pillar box.
 
view from 2008 looks like the same white van as there is now so same owners for at least 10 years ..does anyone know who owns the ground that the pillar box is on?

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mikejee said:
Exactly. thank you Phil. sounless there is something very dubious going on in th eplanning dept or the council, then the gate should be removed immediately (says he hopefully , but not very confidently)
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Mike

The relevant conditions when applying for a dropped kerb and crossover are here.

What is a dropped kerb? | Apply for a dropped kerb | Birmingham City Council

Information about applying for a dropped kerb and associated costs, including extensions to existing dropped kerbs
www.birmingham.gov.uk www.birmingham.gov.uk
 
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Astoness said:
view from 2008 looks like the same white van as there is now so same owners for at least 10 years ..does anyone know who owns the ground that the pillar box is on?
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Not for certain but would have thought that if the land belonged to the house then the fence/wall would have been built further towards the road. Also that pillar boxes and those grey cabinets would have been built on council land.
 
that is exactly what i thought jan...i cant really understand why it is taking so long sort out...i would have thought that all it takes is to see the deeds to the house showing where the bounderies are..
 
Having had dealings with bloody minded councillors and planning officers there's a lot I can't agree with in the posts above, the post box could be moved aside at the house owners expense likewise the kerb dropping, an awful lot of fuss about a small thing whilst the council are ripping up the city and tearing down reasonable dwellings that could be brought up to scratch at little cost.
The fact that the house has been turned into multi occupation is probably what the locality needed if done to a decent standard, homes for youngsters are needed everywhere and they can't all afford to buy at the outset of their lives.
 
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