THERE is very little that can be done to help John Patterson after a granny flat was placed over his back fence without any notification.
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Mr Patterson, a resident of Eglinton, met with Bathurst Regional Council staff on Monday to further discuss the impact the new dwelling is having on his property.
A development application (DA) for the granny flat was submitted to council in October 2019 and approved the following month, however Mr Patterson and other neighbours were not notified of the plans.
The decision not to notify neighbours of the DA was made in accordance with the Community Participation Plan, as the land was not within a heritage conservation area and the DA was for a single storey secondary dwelling.
Mr Patterson has no issue with his neighbour wanting a granny flat, but he would have asked for the dwelling to be placed three metres further up the fence line, had he been notified of the plans.
He had hoped his meeting with council on Monday would produce some kind of solution to the privacy issues he's facing, but unfortunately he found out there was very little that could be done.
"In a nutshell, now that council has approved it, there is nothing more that can be done, except, all I can do is draw up some sort of a lobby to [Member for Bathurst] Paul Toole to have this non-consultation with residents withdrawn, that's about it," Mr Patterson said.
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It also means there is no avenue for him to have the neighbour pay for some sort of screening that can restore his privacy, which is impacted by the windows on the granny flat that overlook his yard and kitchen.
He might be able to do something on his own property, placing the financial burden on him.
"A garden shed has been mentioned, but [council] are going to get back to me on what I can legally do," Mr Patterson said.
"From what was explained to me, once that DA has been approved and whatever's in existence, there's no obligation on behalf of the developer to do anything, to pay for any kind of screening or anything of that sort."
He intends to take his concerns, and those of other neighbours who have been impacted by the development, to Mr Toole.
While Mr Patterson said councillors and council staff "couldn't have been more helpful" since he raised his complaint, he thinks the policies around notification need to be reviewed.
"I'll have a letter drawn up and take it in with the complaints from the neighbours and I'll get that done as soon as I'm able to. I hope within the next week I'll have that in Paul Toole's office and see if he can be of any help at all to stop this happening to anyone else," Mr Patterson said.
