Recent Projects
Bristol - Change of Use
This client had previously converted their house into a guesthouse/hostel, and had been contacted by the Housing Departments of Local Councils to use their facilities to temporarily house local homeless people. It was felt that the accommodation could be greatly improved by making the rooms self contained with kitchenettes and en-suites - something not possible under the guesthouse/hostel use class.
The planning application for the Change of Use from guesthouse/hostel to temporary homeless accommodation was approved with no pre-commencement conditions, and 9 high-quality, self-contained rooms for homeless people/families are now available to LPA housing teams.
Isle of Wight - Planning Objection and Removal of Historic Condition
Condition 4 of the original planning permission for this house required the applicant to reserve an 8ft strip of land between the house and road for future highway use. A section 73 application was submitted on the applicant's behalf, with an in-depth Planning Statement outlining the reasons that the condition did not meet the "six tests" as outlined within Planning Practice Guidance (necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development, enforceable, precise or reasonable).
The Planning Statement also outlined historic high court decisions which supported the assertion that the condition was unlawful, and as a result, the condition has now been removed. The landowner can now be confident that they can use their land as a garden without facing future enforcement action.
Croydon - Certificate of Lawfulness for Existing Development
This client had been having planning issues with their Local Authority in Greater London for the past 7 years. They had built an extension and dormer window without Planning Permission, and had used “Professional after professional with no positive impact”
Using a signed statement from the applicant, historic aerial photography and receipts from the time the development took place, the Council were satisfied that on the balance of probabilities, the single storey wrap around extension and dormer window was constructed more than 4 years prior to the submission of the application, therefore immune from enforcement action and as such was now lawful.
