Our client was served with an Enforcement Notice regarding a wall at the front of his dwelling ‘Granby Hall’ in Granby Leicester. The development involved raising the height of part of the existing front front, replacement solid timber gate and the erection of a new section of wall to the right of the gate. All parts required planning permission as their heights (at around 1.8m) exceeded 1m in height adjacent to the highway.
The Council refused a retrospective planning application to retain the wall and gates on the basis of the harm that such caused to the Conservation Area. Particularly the vista of the dwelling across its deep front garden area relative to the views available previously over the lower front wall and the lower and more open, slatted timber gates. The view of the hall is defined as being important in the Conservation Area appraisal document.
The Fallback Position
Chrissy advised the client that it would be useful to advance an argument that a 2m fence set behind the original wall and back from the highway boundary (so not ‘adjacent’) could be erected without planning permission should the enforcement notice be upheld. She advised that, based on case law, for this ‘fallback’ to be given suitable weight it would be necessary to obtain a Certificate of Lawfulness for the fence and stress in the appeal submission that the fence would most definitely be erected for privacy reasons should the Enforcement Notice to reduce the wall to 1m be upheld. The client was please to be advised of this strategy and instructed Chrissy to make such an application.
The Certificate of Lawfulness was granted and then cited in the appeal submission. Take a look at our Blog about this: Planning Success – Establishing a Fallback Position.
The Appeal
In assessing the scheme the Inspector found that the completed wall and gates, although not unattractive in themselves, would be contrary to policy because they would not preserve or enhance the Conservation Area given their negative impact on an acknowledged important open view of the hall and its grandeur. However, he concluded that there was a very realistic prospect of the 2m high fence being erected for privacy reasons if the Enforcement Notice was upheld.
The Inspector considered that this would not harm the view as much as the high front wall, it would also result in a double row of boundary treatment (low wall, gap, high fence) that would be out of character with boundary treatment close to the highway in the village and visually harmful to the Conservation Area in general.
The established fence fallback was the key factor in this appeal.
The Result
Enforcement Notice Quashed and Planning Permission Granted.
In this case it was the strategy of obtaining the certificate in advance of the appeal being determined that made all the difference and this is not a route that the client would have gone down without the input of a planning consultant. The planning strategy can sometimes make a huge difference in the outcome of a case.
Related Content
If you have a site which is within a Conservation Area take a look at our Practical Guide covering the basics of Conservation Areas.
There’s nothing more frustrating than having an application refused. If that’s the situation you’ve found yourself in, our eBook Town Planning, The Basics…Appeals covers everything you need to know.
If you’ve been served an enforcement notice, our eBook Town Planning, The Basics…Enforcement, covers your recommended next steps.
And as always if you need help with your next step in a development proposal, CONTACT US, we’re always happy to chat through a proposal.
