®Planning appeal decision
234 Headington Road, Oxford, OX3 7PS
Planning appeal 3259326 at 234 Headington Road, Oxford, OX3 7PS (Oxford City Council) was dismissed on 23 June 2021 by Inspector Hanson S, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the Council's decision to refuse to issue a certificate of lawful use was well-founded; specifically, whether the use of the building as a single dwellinghouse had existed on a substantially uninterrupted basis for at least four years and had not been abandoned or supplanted by another use, such that it would be immune from enforcement action under section 171B(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
to certify that the existing annex as self-contained accommodation is lawful
- Authority
- Oxford City Council
- Appeal type
- ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Hanson S
- Postcode
- OX3 7PS
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the Council's decision to refuse to issue a certificate of lawful use was well-founded; specifically, whether the use of the building as a single dwellinghouse had existed on a substantially uninterrupted basis for at least four years and had not been abandoned or supplanted by another use, such that it would be immune from enforcement action under section 171B(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
What decided it
The evidence did not demonstrate on the balance of probability that the annexe had been used as a separate dwelling for a continuous period of four years at the time the application was made, due to identified breaks in tenancy agreements and rent payments, lack of substantiation for claimed rent waivers, and the property being unoccupied at the time of the LDC application.
What the Inspector cited
- Judgments
- Swale BC v FSS & Lee [2005] EWCA Civ 1568
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.