We have seen a good number of appeal cases relating to lawful development certificates where inspectors have issued decisions without the benefit of a site visit. This might be unsurprising, given that such appeals turn on the facts of the case rather than matters of planning judgement. In a new development, we now have an example of a section 78 appeal which the inspector has decided without a site visit (DCS Number 400-025-725).
Monthly Archives: April 2020
Out on the streets
In Unprecedented times we flagged up an enforcement appeal decision in which the inspector accepted that an uncertain situation currently exists with regard to Covid-19 but nevertheless reasoned that under s173A of the Act the council had the power to extend the time for compliance with the notice. In a further enforcement appeal relating to an unauthorised house in multiple occupation in north London (DCS Number 400-025-551), however, the inspector extended the compliance period, recognising that the effect of the notice would be to deprive the tenants of their homes at a time when they would be unlikely to find somewhere else to live.
Tact and discretion
Planning inspectors are, of course, public servants and must always treat appellants with the utmost courtesy and respect. On occasion that must prove quite a challenge. We rather admired the following phrasing, found in an appeal against an enforcement notice directed at the unauthorised residential conversion of a pub in Oxfordshire (DCS Number 400-025-507).
Viel Gluck
A recent court case, Gluck v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government [2020], has brought good luck to a local authority in Cheshire which found itself unable to determine a prior approval application under Class Q of the GPDO within the requisite period.
Taken out of context
The planning application process demands that information is provided about the context in which a development site is located. Given that that context might comprise land which is outside the control of the applicant, it can be problematic to provide information that is totally accurate. Nevertheless, providing inaccurate information has resulted in an unfortunate outcome for a would-be developer in north London.
Unprecedented times
As we all now know, we live in unprecedented times, and we are all having to adapt in one way or another. For its part, the Planning Inspectorate is busily exploring new ways of working and decision-making whilst adhering to the principles of fairness, openness and impartiality. In this context, we thought it might be useful to flag up a recent appeal against an enforcement notice which required the demolition, within twelve months, of an unauthorised house in Kent (DCS Number 400-025-508).
A wicked problem
An inspector has allowed a takeaway near to three primary schools on Merseyside, reasoning that primary school children would not be allowed out of school on their own, and so would be unable to buy takeaway food (DCS Number 400-025-467). You might think that perhaps the inspector has a point…until reading a further appeal decision, relating to a takeaway in Gateshead, in which the inspector reasons that where there are overweight children in an area there are probably also overweight adults, and planning policies are aimed at improving the health of the population as a whole (DCS Number 400-025-220).
News from PlanningResource
- ‘Number of holiday-let homes has soared by 40 per cent’ July 1, 2022A report by the BBC, detailing where spikes in holiday rental numbers are highest, leads our round-up of today’s newspaper stories
- Inspectors pause local plan hearings to ‘consider’ neighbouring authority’s unmet housing need July 1, 2022Planning inspectors have postponed the remaining public hearings assessing the viability of an authority’s local plan in order to “allow more time for the consideration of information relating to Leicester’s unmet housing need”.
- Residents in North Norfolk village use neighbourhood plan to stem rise in second home ownership July 1, 2022Residents in the parish of Heacham in North Norfolk have included a clause to their neighbourhood plan requiring all new housing to be sold as principal residences, to stem an increase in second and holiday home ownership.
- Independent review finds capacity of employment sites to absorb extra Black Country homes is 'not significant' July 1, 2022An independent review of the emerging strategic plan for the Black Country has identified additional brownfield land for development, but not “of a significant scale” to close out the subregion’s housing shortfall.
- Local Plan Watch: Council adopts plan after nine years of preparation, despite housing shortfall June 30, 2022A council has adopted a local plan after a nine-year preparation process, despite identifying a 500-home shortfall in its planned housing supply.
- 10 key things that happened this week June 30, 2022Ten of the biggest stories from the past week, including a council taking enforcement action against one of the UK's biggest housebuilders and the local authorities with the highest and lowest approval rates.
- How measures in the levelling up bill to force developers to complete schemes more quickly are likely to play out June 30, 2022The levelling up bill includes proposals requiring developers to tell councils when they are starting work on a permitted scheme and making it easier for authorities to force applicants to complete unfinished buildings. However, observers say the measures are unlikely to have any significant impact on build-out rates.
- ‘Census results suggest some green belt building might have been unnecessary’ June 30, 2022A national newspaper report claiming that the census results indicate that some green belt land might have been “unnecessarily” allocated for development due to over-estimated population figures in some areas leads our roundup of today’s news.
- Clarkson acting like ‘a classic bully’, says council planning officers’ chairman June 30, 2022TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been acting like “a classic bully” in picking on local authority planning officers, says the chairman of the body that represents them.
- The councils that determined the fewest applications within government time limits in 2020/21 and 2021/22 June 30, 2022Eighteen authorities are sitting below the government’s ‘special measures’ threshold for speed of decision making on applications in the two years to March 2022, two more than in the previous quarter.