news : don't build what you don't have planning permission for - a precautionary tale
An enforcement notice requiring the demolition of a house in Leeds, that departed from approved plans, has been upheld by a planning Inspector following an appeal.
The owner of the property was granted planning permission in 2005 to build a three-bedroom detached house, incorporating a second floor ancillary granny annexe. What ended up being built was a four-bedroom house, with granny annexe and a basement.
The property projected 90cm forward of the houses either side and was closer to the respective flank walls of these houses and significantly higher than the approved plans and other properties in the street.
The owner applied for retrospective planning permission for the house as built, but the application was refused and a subsequent appeal dismissed. Leeds City Council then issued an enforcement notice requiring the property to be demolished. This notice was also appealed. The Inspector in dismissing the appeal considered the house was an over-dominant element in the street scene and detracted from the street’s appearance because of its height and forward projection.
Another tale of skulduggery involved a corrugated iron and wood barn in the Derbyshire Dales. The barn had the benefit of planning permission, but what the former owner did was then build a two-storey stone building complete with lounge, kitchen, diner, bedroom and bathroom inside the barn.
Under current planning policy the house would not have received planning permission, being in open countryside. The owner, however, considered that if occupied and undetected for four years the dwelling could remain and he could secure a Certificate of Lawfulness of Development. However, he was not aware that a recent High Court ruling had established that the four-year period only starts when any shielding construction (in this case the corrugated iron and wood barn) was removed.
On having its attention drawn to this house, the Council issued an enforcement notice requiring the owner to demolish it.
There are many other instances of people trying to circumvent the planning system or build something that does not accord with the approved plans, but with aids such as aerial photographs, Google Earth, Google Street View and concerned neighbours, Councils will quickly find out about any irregularities.
The lesson in all this is to get a professional planning consultant to advise you on your proposals, to inform you of the issues your proposals raise and the likelihood and the best way of securing planning permission.
|
