Planning Permission Refusal - Unfair?

djsunset_2

I applied for an extension on my property. The majority of the properties on the terrace have virtually the same extension as what I applied for, in fact mine is one of only 2 properties that do not have this extension. Virtually no objections were raised to the planning application from neighbors, residents etc.

However planning permission was refused. It is a conservation area, but the fact that most properties have this extension made me think getting planning would be straightforward. However, the Council stated that a new policy had recently come into place to preserve the character of the buildings and area, and that with regard to the other properties with an extension, these had been granted permission before the new Council policy came into place.

I'm a bit miffed. I am at a disadvantage to the rest of the properties both in terms of my enjoyment of it and in terms of future resale value.

Does anyone here with knowledge of planning law have an opinion on where I stand? How much does precedent count for? what I applied for is the same as what neighboring properties already have. Can the Council just arbitrarily decide that they don't want any more extensions from a certain date onwards?

david29dpo

Have you appealed yet?

Fuzzyness

can you post up what the reason the application was refused for please?

how long ago was your application refused?

googler

My non-expert view is that Policy over-rides Precedent.

Anyone who is disadvantaged by a change in legislation will feel hard done by, but if you start making exceptions to the legislation because of actions prior to enacting it, where do you stop?

DVardysShadow

googler wrote: »

My non-expert view is that Policy over-rides Precedent.

Anyone who is disadvantaged by a change in legislation will feel hard done by, but if you start making exceptions to the legislation because of actions prior to enacting it, where do you stop?

This does not require an exception to legislation. And unless we are talking about somewhere with the national significance of the Royal Crescent in Bath, I incline to think that policy is being too rigidly applied.

Fuzzyness

until we know what the policy says, what the proposal was and why it was refused its pie in the sky trying to determine whether there is any grounds to either feel agrieved or whether to appeal the decision.

djsunset_2

The application was refused fairly recently - within the last month. I want to appeal but it can take some time to get an appeal decision so ideally we want to convince the Council that they have made the wrong decision before then.

The extension in question is a roof extension. The application was refused because (paraphrasing):

the alterations would change the original roof pitch and would not enhance or maintain the appearance/character of the Conservation Area, contrary to various policies to secure high quality design and conserve heritage, and above all contrary to the Conservation Area's Appraisal and Management Strategy which recently came into force.

The delegated report acknowledges that the roof profile of this terrace and of others in the area have already been altered significantly and that the proposed alteration is consistent with developments of neighboring properties. However it notes that approval for these alterations was granted before the Conservation Area's Appraisal and Management Strategy came into force.

Although the roofscapes of neighboring buildings have already been altered significantly, taking into account the issues cited in the recent Conservation Area Statement it is considered that the proposed development would damage the original character and appearance of the building.

The Conservation Area Statement, on which the new strategy is based, states that proposed developments to change roofscapes and to insert dormers to the front and rear aspects of buildings can damage the character of an area if the proposal does not account for the design of the original building and the pattern of neighboring buildings. The Statement says that proposals should be judged on their design merits, should not create additional visual bulk to the roof or draw increased attention to the roofscape.

teneighty

With the limited information available it is impossible to give an informed opinion but a new planning policy on a conservation area can be a powerful restriction. It is also worth remembering that planning decisions can be wrong and be granted on appeal.

What did your architect/designer advise about the refusal?

Have you tried asking the planning officer who dealt with your application to see if a minor modification to your application could satisfy the new policy?

djsunset_2

Unfortunately the planning officer did not engage with either me or the architect before making his decision despite earlier promising to do so.

We have tried calling a couple of times since the decision but so far not managed to get through.

I wanted to know really if a council is pretty much unlimited by law in terms of what policies it can get away with - even if a policy clearly disadvantages one householder compared with neighbors. Does precedent count for anything legally, or does the council have a free hand.

I should add that I'm not sure how a minor modification in this instance could satisfy the new policy given that our proposal was for an extension to almost exactly match the extensions on the majority of buildings on the terrace

Fuzzyness

djsunset wrote: »

I wanted to know really if a council is pretty much unlimited by law in terms of what policies it can get away with - even if a policy clearly disadvantages one householder compared with neighbors. Does precedent count for anything legally, or does the council have a free hand.

you do seem to have been caught by the publication of an updated conservation area appraisal which although in itself is not a reason to refuse your application, the officer does seem to have placed undue weight on it when determining your application.

you have very kindly quoted from the officer's report on why the applicaiton was to be refused but have you got the actual wording for the reason of refusal which should be on the decision notice issued by the council. and should refer to a policy in the Local Plan/UDP.

you have a couple of options. contest the decision and appeal. in doing so, you'll have to argue that the roof extension would not have an adverse impact on the conservation area, drawing on the existence of all the other roof extensions that have happened. i take it yours is a rear extension and not on the front of the house.

if you submit your appeal, you can then try and meet with the officer and see whether there is any scope to agree a slightly smaller extension that he would accept. If so, you could then resubmit a new application for a smaller extension.

if he's not willing to accept a smaller extension i'm afraid you'll need to take your chance with a planning inspector. you could engage a planning consultant to undertake the appeal for you, which should improve your chances of getting the decision you want.

fannyanna

I don't know anything about the procedure for getting planning permission so I can't advise but it seems pretty unfair to me.