SUN BLOCK: Lords Place resident Hanne Hoelaas said her neighbour’s proposed second-storey extension overlooking her kitchen will block out the northern sun and her view of the sky. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 0425dev
LORDS Place resident Hanne Hoelaas believes she will be left in the dark if an application for a second-storey extension to a neighbouring home is approved by Orange City Council.
She says the proposed alteration for a fourth bedroom, overlooking the rear of her home, will block out the northern sun and her view of the sky.
“They say I will get 75 per cent sun [through the kitchen windows] from 11am but I’ll only get 35 per cent,” she said.
“I will get less than four hours sun per day.
“With the lack of sunlight in Orange it would cost much more to heat the house and my mood is effected if I have to live in the shade.”
Ms Hoelaas says the visual bulk of the development outside her kitchen still does not comply with the council’s development guidelines despite the applicants’ changes to original plans.
Orange City Council staff refused to tell her whether the development was recommended for approval at the upcoming sustainable development committee (SDC) meeting on Monday.
She has written a submission objecting to the development and will also address the meeting with her suggestion for the applicants to change their design to only extend on the ground floor.
“I would lose the shared view of the backyard but at least I’d still be able to see the sky,” she said.
“My house was built before the current development guidelines. It’s south of them so it doesn’t take any sun from them at all.”
But the home’s owner Steve Elliott said his neighbour was actively seeking to “exploit and undermine” Orange City Council’s development approval processes.
“We have at all times sought to comply with Orange City Council’s Development Control Guidelines and have been in communication with [the council] from day one,” he said.
“There is a due process by which these matters are addressed and we are committed to this process.”
The Elliots are extending their three-bedroom home to include an extra room for an elderly relative with Parkinson’s disease.
Mr Elliot said the development was consistent with surrounding properties, which were also two-storey.
He said he was disappointed with the response from his neighbour who extended her own home 18 months ago.
“We didn’t object to her development because there was agreement between parties,” he said.
clare.colley@ruralpress.com