This one comes up regularly, which it really shouldn’t. In determining an appeal against an enforcement notice relating to land in Cambridgeshire (DCS Number 400-029-772), an inspector has explained that ‘curtilage’ is not a use of land:-
Monthly Archives: February 2021
A matter of principle
An inspector has decided that an Essex council was mistaken in its view that permission in principle cannot be granted for development on land which is not on a brownfield land register (DCS Number 400-029-717).
The man on the Clapham omnibus
You don’t meet the man on the Clapham omnibus much these days but here he is in a recent appeal case:
In determining an appeal against an enforcement notice which alleged the material change of use of agricultural land in west Cornwall to a mixed allotment and leisure use (DCS Number 400-029-642), the inspector first gave his attention to getting the notice in order.
A flat refusal
The change of use of part of a ground floor shop in Leicester to three self-contained flats under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class M of the GPDO has been denied permission, an inspector declining to recognise the minimal scale of accommodation proposed as dwellings (DCS Number 400-029-654). As the debate concerning the expansion of permitted development rights continues we thought this case was one to highlight.
Vitamin Sea
Desperately in need of a dose of Vitamin Sea, we’ve been watching Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury on ITV. Julia described the coastal town of Salcombe as ‘chi chi’ so it probably ought not to come as a surprise that a camping barn there might be better described as luxury than rudimentary (DCS Number 400-029-508).
An unrestrained whim
In determining whether an outbuilding at a house in Buckinghamshire would be permitted development under Schedule 2, Part 1, Class E of the GPDO an inspector made reference to the leading court case on the subject, Emin v Secretary of State for the Environment and Mid-Sussex DC [1989].
A key question
Class M of Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the GPDO allows for ‘… a change of use of a building from…a use falling within Class A1 (shops) or Class A2 (financial and professional services) …to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) …subject to the condition that before beginning the development, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to…whether it is undesirable for the building to change to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses)… because of the impact of the change of use …where the building is located in a key shopping area, on the sustainability of that shopping area.’
Happy and free
Looking forward to the “happy and free Great British summer” predicted by the Secretary of State for Health it might be a good idea to gen up on the planning legislation relevant to caravans. Happily, we spotted a useful appeal case recently: in settling an argument as to whether the siting of static caravans on a site in Dorset would be lawful (DCS Number 400-029-263) the inspector recounted the relevant case law.
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.