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
- How new Covid-19 application publicity rules may raise fresh risks for councils June 4, 2020New temporary rules allow councils to publicise applications using social media and other electronic communications during the pandemic, but using such digital methods does raise some risks, commentators warn.
- Why the secretary of state's admission of 'apparent bias' over his approval of a 1,500-home scheme has prompted calls for an overhaul of ministerial decision-making June 4, 2020An admission of "apparent bias" by the housing secretary in his consent for a 1,500-home scheme in east London is unprecedented and "shocking", according to legal experts, who warn that it could undermine faith in ministerial decision-making and should prompt far-reaching changes around the process.
- 10 key things that happened this week June 4, 2020Ten of the biggest stories from the past week, including news that the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has announced it is planning to hold "at least" 35 virtual hearings, inquiries and examinations in June as it "scales up" its capacity to process more cases.
- Neighbourhood Watch: Jenrick refuses Surrey housing scheme due to neighbourhood plan clash June 4, 2020Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has cited paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - which defines the circumstances in which conflict with a neighbourhood plan is likely to "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh the benefits of a scheme - to refuse consent for a housing scheme in Surrey.
- Police 'assessing allegation' in relation to Jenrick's 'unlawful' Docklands consent June 4, 2020The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it is assessing an "allegation" made in relation to the housing secretary's recently-overturned consent for a 1,500-home scheme in London's Docklands.
- Housing secretary refuses plans for ‘oppressive’ 800-home Woolwich scheme June 4, 2020Plans for an 800-home development in south east London featuring a 27-storey tower have been refused on appeal after the secretary of state judged that the scheme would "loom oppressively" over its surroundings and was "visually jarring”.
- Jenrick blocks 771-home Greenwich development on design grounds June 4, 2020The housing secretary has refused plans for a 771-home scheme in south east London that would provide 40 per cent affordable housing after concluding that the proposal fails "to take the opportunity to promote a high quality of design".
- Jenrick approves 1,210-home Devon urban extension despite heritage harm June 4, 2020Plans for a 1,210 home urban extension to the south of Newton Abbott in Devon have been approved by the housing secretary on appeal after he concluded that the scheme's benefits outweighed the likely harm to a nearby Grade-I listed church.
- Frankie & Benny's owner 'to close between 100 and 120 outlets' June 4, 2020A report that the owner of casual dining chain Frankie & Benny's "is understood to have called time on between 100 and 120" of its UK restaurants features in today's media round-up.
- Sharma blocks Thames Estuary wind farm extension over shipping risks June 3, 2020Business secretary Alok Sharma has refused consent for plans to extend a wind farm in the Thames Estuary due to concerns that it would interfere with shipping.