Appeal Against Condition Restricting Permitted Development Rights
Successfully appealed an unjustified planning condition which restricted permitted development rights for small HMOs and awarded full costs for the Council's unreasonable behaviours. Councils sometimes impose unnecessary restrictions—our expert approach prevents and resolves such issues efficiently.
Harrow Council
Authority:
Location:
Imperial Drive, North Harrow
Background
Our client obtained planning permission for the conversion of a dwelling into two flats (1 x 3-bed, 1 x 2-bed), alongside substantial extensions and alterations
However, the Council imposed a restrictive condition stating:
The development hereby permitted shall be used for Class C3 dwellinghouse(s) only and, notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no development within Schedule 2, Part 3, Class L shall take place.
Our Approach
Our client intended to use the flats as small HMOs, which the imposed condition prevented. We prepared a comprehensive appeal statement, drawing on national planning policies and a breadth of appeal decisions to support our case. Additionally, we submitted a claim for costs, demonstrating that the Council had acted unreasonably.
By meticulously reviewing the Council’s response, we provided detailed rebuttals and highlighted to the Inspector that the Council had unjustifiably introduced new reasoning for the condition during the appeal process.
Outcome
The Planning Inspector ruled in our client’s favor, allowing the appeal and awarding full costs. In his decision, he noted:
“The Council, in this particular case, did not adequately justify at application stage why the condition was imposed, as it was required to do, thus resulting in this appeal. Nor did it adequately set out at application or appeal stage why this development in this location would be unacceptable without the disputed condition, and therefore why the condition is reasonable and necessary.”
Key Takeaways
Local authorities sometimes impose conditions that unduly restrict permitted development rights without proper justification. If you face such limitations, we can help challenge and appeal unwarranted conditions.
While appeals can resolve these issues, they inevitably take time. For planning applications we manage, we engage proactively with Councils to negotiate reasonable conditions upfront, preventing unnecessary restrictions and avoiding the need for appeal
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