In determining an appeal against an enforcement notice directed at the conversion of a terrace house in southeast London to two flats (DCS Number 400-024-950), an inspector has explained how a notice might constitute a nullity.
Monthly Archives: February 2020
Will it stand or will it fall?
Appellants who were hoping to gain permission for an additional residential caravan on their pitch in north Yorkshire will no doubt be interested in the fate of the Finney judgment, reported in A conflict situation, in the Supreme Court.
A poisoned chalice?
Is pre-application advice sometimes a poisoned chalice? A case in point concerns a recent appeal relating to a proposal for a new dwelling to the rear of an existing house in Derbyshire (DCS Number 400-025-015). In this case the inspector awarded costs against the council after she found the pre-application advice which had been given to be misleading.
A place for everything
….and everything in its place.
An inspector has decided that a digital advertisement to replace a paper and paste advertisement would be out of place in suburban Bristol (DCS Number 400-024-682).
As the pigeon flies
In an appeal case in which the potential threat to residential amenity came from an airborne source the inspector took the topography of the land into account in coming to her decision. In this case (DCS Number 400-024-952) a south Wales householder was denied permission to retain a pigeon loft in his rear garden.
Oversimplification
A light touch is one thing but you can go too far.
In dealing with an appeal relating to a prior approval application for a rear extension to a house in southeast London under Part 1, Class A of the GPDO (DCS Number 400-024-852) an inspector pointed out that the plans do not need to be drawn to scale.
A light touch approach
The change of use of a B1(c) light industrial building in southeast London used for the manufacture of event sets to C3 residential under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class PA of the GPDO has been deemed to be permitted development by an inspector notwithstanding intervening uses since the relevant date (DCS Number 200-009-116).
Anytime soon
In Shakespeare’s day ‘presently’ only meant in the present, now. Over a few centuries the procrastinators amongst us have managed to stretch the meaning of the word such that it can also mean in the near future, soonish. Likewise, ‘immediately’ might not mean exactly the same thing to one person as it does to another. Against this background you can see the inspector’s problem with an enforcement notice which required the use of a site in Gloucestershire as a storage yard to cease ‘immediately’ (DCS Number 400-024-830). He declared the notice a nullity and without legal effect.
News from PlanningResource
- 'Planning system fails to integrate government climate change commitments,' says Lord Deben September 17, 2021Climate Change Committee (CCC) chair Lord Deben has told MPs that the planning system fails to integrate the government’s commitments to fighting climate change, while local authorities lack Whitehall support in their efforts to reach net zero.
- ‘Gove facing calls to return £100,000 in property developer donations’ September 17, 2021A report that Michael Gove is facing pressure to return donations from a property developer over a potential “conflict of interest” with his new role as housing secretary leads our round-up of today’s news.
- Former Policy Exchange director lands MHCLG ministerial post September 17, 2021Neil O’Brien MP, a former director of the Policy Exchange think tank who describes "reforming" the planning system as one of his priorities, has been appointed to a new junior ministerial post at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
- Gove 'pauses and promises to review government planning changes' September 17, 2021New housing secretary Michael Gove has "paused" the government’s long-awaited shake-up of the planning system and pledged to conduct a review into how the proposals can be improved, according to newspaper reports, which say he intends to consult with Tory backbenchers.
- Council's draft local plan proposes deallocating 8% of its green belt September 17, 2021A Hertfordshire council has published a new draft of its local plan that proposes the deallocation of eight per cent of the borough's green belt land, some of which would be used for a new settlement of up to 6,000 homes.
- Correction: table on p21 of the Autumn print edition September 16, 2021The Insight Report on housing appeals in the print edition of the Autumn 2021 issue of Planning, which will be arriving in subscribers' mailboxes over the next few days, includes an incorrect table.
- Ten key things that happened this week September 16, 2021Ten of the biggest stories from the past week, including news that Michael Gove has replaced Robert Jenrick as housing secretary in the cabinet reshuffle.
- Local Plan Watch: Council mulls allocating 12,500 homes on greenfield sites in updated plan September 16, 2021A local authority in Hampshire is considering proposals to build 12,500 homes on three large greenfield sites in its updated local plan, to help meet a higher housing target.
- The implications for planners of a new government-commissioned report on self build housing September 16, 2021A government-commissioned report's recommendations on changing the planning system to boost self build housing - including the introduction of local authority plot targets - are likely to be positively received by ministers, say observers. But some are concerned about the implications for councils of having to hit any new quotas and of additional duties.
- Why the risk of councils issuing planning decisions by mistake may be increasing September 16, 2021Recent examples of planning decision blunders by councils should serve as a warning over moves to digitise the planning system, say practitioners, who highlight the difficulty and cost of overturning such administrative errors. Many also believe that the risk of mistakes has become greater due to local authority planning teams becoming increasingly over-stretched.