About us
NIMBYs of Britain (N.O.B.) is a national association of concerned residents, retired colonels, parish councillors, amateur ecologists and people who once saw a bat. Since 1839 we have stood between this country and anything that might happen to it.
Our mission
To keep Britain exactly as it was on the day we bought our house.
We believe every field is ancient, every road is at capacity, every pond contains a great crested newt, and every proposal, however small, is the thin end of a wedge. We are not against homes. We live in one. We simply feel that everyone who needs a house already has one, or could get one somewhere else, possibly Reading.
The association is entirely independent, funded by £5 lifetime memberships and a bequest from a man who left us his ride-on mower on the condition that we opposed the crematorium.
Our history
Formally founded in 1839. Informally, we have been against things for considerably longer.
The founding
On a wet Tuesday in 1839, a group of gentlemen and their wives gathered on an embankment outside Paddington to oppose the Great Western Railway, which they felt would "bring Bristol closer, and we have seen Bristol". Their leader, Ebenezer Nabb, gentleman, of Bath, described the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the minutes as "a small man with big ideas, neither of which we want".
The railway was built. The association was not deterred. It has objected to every significant piece of infrastructure in Britain since, and takes considerable pride in never having been on the winning side of anything.
The photograph above is the earliest known picture of a planning objection. It was also the first time anyone had been photographed, and the founders objected to that too.
- c. 2500 BCStonehenge. A concerned local objects that it is "out of keeping with the field" and "not the sort of thing we want in Wiltshire". The objection is recorded on a smaller stone. The association regards this as its spiritual founding.
- AD 122Hadrian's Wall. Residents on both sides object. "A wall? Here?" The Romans, having also put in the roads, are described in a letter as "developers".
- 1086The Domesday Book. A survey. Members refuse to answer the door.
- 1215Magna Carta. Objected to on the grounds that it "sets a precedent". It did.
- 1666The rebuilding of London after the Great Fire. Objectors argue the ash "forms part of the setting". Christopher Wren is referred to throughout as "some architect".
- 1839The association is formally founded at Paddington in opposition to the Great Western Railway. See above. Membership: 14, all related.
- 1840The Penny Post. "It will only encourage letters." The objection is sent by post.
- 1863The London Underground opens. Described in the minutes as "a hole". An objection is lodged from Somerset on the grounds that "it is all connected".
- 1865Bazalgette's sewers. "We have managed perfectly well with the river."
- 1947The Town and Country Planning Act is passed, giving the public a formal right to object. The association's chairman, Wing Commander Hubert Nabb, great-grandson of Ebenezer, objects to it anyway, "to keep in practice". The objection is refused. He objects to the refusal.
- 1951First recorded use of the phrase "it'll set a precedent" at a parish meeting, in Nether Fossey, concerning a bird table.
- 1963The Beeching cuts close the branch line. The association objects, having first objected to the line being built in 1841. Members describe this as "consistency".
- 1974The Great Bus Shelter Standoff of Little Wittering begins. It will last 52 years. See news.
- 1988The great crested newt is formally adopted as patron of the association. The newt is not consulted, in keeping with tradition.
- 1994The Channel Tunnel opens. A member in Cumbria objects on the grounds that France "is now, technically, next door".
- 2004First online objection portal launched by a district council. It crashes under load from one member.
- 2012A solar farm in Wiltshire is refused because it "might glint at aircraft". The nearest airport is 90 miles away. A commemorative plaque is proposed and objected to.
- 2019Membership passes 40,000. Youth Wing membership passes 0. It has not passed it since.
- 2026nob.org.uk is launched. Objections received against the website: three, all from members, one on traffic grounds.
Our arms
Granted to the association by itself in 1839, after the College of Arms failed to reply, which we took as consent. Members may display the arms on their gatepost, their car and their objection letters. The blazon, for those who like that sort of thing:
- Arms
- Argent, a bordure Gules; a cottage of stone proper, two chimneys, dry-stone wall, entirely unaltered since 1740, the whole within a roundel prohibited Gules. Heralds have asked why the association's own emblem is a house with a line through it. The answer is that it is not our house.
- Crest
- A village on a hill proper, with a church tower, several houses that were fine because they were already there, and no visible bus shelter.
- Supporters
- Dexter, a lion rampant crowned, having objected. Sinister, a unicorn rampant crowned and chained, also having objected, and in any case not real, which has never stopped anybody.
- Wreath
- Oak leaves and acorns proper, all of them ancient, all of them protected, at least one of them the subject of a Tree Preservation Order applied for by the bearer against himself.
- Badge
- A great crested newt statant on the motto ribbon. It was found there by Dr Slough in 1988 and has not been confirmed since.
- Motto
- Objectus Praeterito, Objectus Futuro. Objected to the past, objecting to the future. Gavin has pointed out that this leaves the present unaccounted for. The Executive replied that the present is where the meetings are, and objected to his note.
- Letters
- N.O.B., borne on a cartouche beneath, in the manner of a professional body, which we are in the sense that we have a ring binder.
The Ten Objections
Our founding principles, as carved into the village hall noticeboard without permission.
- Thou shalt not build.
- Thou shalt consider the traffic. Thou shalt consider it constantly.
- Thou shalt find a newt. If there is no newt, thou shalt find a bat. If there is no bat, thou shalt find a Roman.
- Thou shalt describe any field as "ancient", any hedge as "historic", and any puddle as "part of the setting".
- Thou shalt begin every objection with "I am all for housing, but".
- Thou shalt speak for forty minutes in the three-minute slot.
- Thou shalt refer to anything over two storeys as a "tower block".
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's extension. Thou shalt object to it.
- Thou shalt describe a village of three hundred people as "already at capacity".
- Thou shalt move to the countryside, and then object to the countryside.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't this hypocritical? You live in a house.
Yes. It was built in 1780 by people we would certainly have objected to. That is precisely why we understand the dangers.
Do you accept members who live in cities?
We do, provided they object to the city. Several of our most active members live in London and have never once approved of it.
What if I actually support a development?
Your membership will be revoked and you will be asked to leave via the new cycle lane, which does not exist, because we stopped it.
Is N.O.B. a recognised professional qualification?
It is recognised by us, and we are a body, so in a sense it is a professional body qualification. We have written to the Privy Council about a Royal Charter. They have not replied, which we take as a good sign.
Where do you think people should live?
We are asked this a great deal and it seems to us a very negative question. We prefer to focus on where people should not live, which is here.
Do you have a youth wing?
The post has been vacant since 1998. Applications are welcome from anyone under sixty who has ever complained about a skate park.
What is the poster made of?
Paper. Good paper. 170gsm silk, which is thicker than most planning policy. It comes in a stiff envelope so it arrives without creases, and we send it second class because first class would only encourage the Post Office.
Is my £5 refundable?
Lifetime means lifetime. If you leave, you may return the poster, but the letters N.O.B. will follow you around like a badly sited wind turbine.