Warwick House, 21-23 London Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1PX

Planning appeal 3269095 at Warwick House, 21-23 London Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1PX (St Albans City Council) was allowed on 7 June 2021 by Inspector Chalk M, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the loss of the A1 use is justified, including any effect on the significance of the St Albans Conservation Area.

change of use of ground floor (A1 Use Class) unit to 3no. self-contained flats (Class C3) and associated works

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Chalk M
Postcode: AL1 1PX

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the loss of the A1 use is justified, including any effect on the significance of the St Albans Conservation Area
Whether the development would provide an acceptable standard of accommodation, with regard to the provision of refuse storage facilities

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply engaged the tilted balance, and the modest harm from loss of a single retail unit did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of three new dwellings in addressing housing need.

The harm from loss of retail use from a Class A frontage, which conflicts with local plan policies, was modest and did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the moderate benefits of three new dwellings supporting housing delivery and addressing need for smaller units, when assessed against the Framework taken as a whole.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy 52Policy 56Policy 57Policy 11Policy 70
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 11
Judgments: Wheatcroft

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 applied

The decision letter

Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.

Appeals plan, £15 a month

With an account

What an account adds to this decision

232 other decided appeals within two kilometres of this site. In the app every dot opens its decision, and its letter wherever one was published, and you can draw your own site to see what has been decided around it.AllowedDismissedSplitThis decision

An appeal decision in the app, with the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out beside the letter — Every letter, there to read. We pick out the main issues, the policies and the judgments cited, so you can work through the letter faster.

Searching the full text of appeal decision letters in the app — Search inside every letter. By words or by meaning, filtered by authority, outcome, appeal type and procedure, with every locatable decision on the map and the Inspector named on each.

Start your free trial

More decisions in St Albans City Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2021

Dismissed25 September 20266009808
58 And 60 Waverley Road St, St Albans, St Albans, AL3 5PE
Dismissed5 August 20266006844
Land Rear Of 14 Oakwood Road, Bricket Wood, AL2 3PU
Allowed9 July 20266006426
69/69A St Peters Street, St Albans, AL1 3ED
Allowed9 July 20266006425
67 St Peters Street, St Albans, AL1 3EA
Dismissed19 August 20253361949
Parking Area Adjacent 34-51 Hardwicke Place, London Colney, St Albans, AL2 1PX

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.