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Dismissed9 August 20213272879

Flat B, 11 Commercial Road, Bedford, MK40 1RB

Planning appeal 3272879 at Flat B, 11 Commercial Road, Bedford, MK40 1RB (Bedford Borough Council) was dismissed on 9 August 2021 by Inspector Smith A, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect upon the character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to the potential for a separate unit of living accommodation to be created.

Change of use of Garage / Storage area ancillary to 11B Commercial Rd into additional bedroom and living space increasing the existing 1 Bedroom Flat (11B) to a two bedroom Flat (under Use Class C3). Proposal includes replacement of garage doors with UPVC double glazed window and door and internal reconfiguration of the existing flat

Authority
Bedford Borough Council
Appeal type
minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
residential · Change of use
Inspector
Smith A
Postcode
MK40 1RB

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The effect upon the character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to the potential for a separate unit of living accommodation to be created
  • Whether or not acceptable arrangements for the storage of cycles would be provided

What decided it

The clear potential for the garage to be occupied as a self-contained unit, combined with the inability to enforce conditions preventing this and the failure to provide adequate cycle storage, caused unacceptable harm to character and appearance and conflicted with development plan policies.

The modest benefits of converting underutilised building space and providing additional residential floorspace in an accessible location, together with limited visual improvements to the street elevation and potential on-street parking gains, were outweighed by the considerable harms to character and appearance arising from the potential for separate occupation and the failure to provide acceptable cycle storage arrangements.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy 28SPolicy 29Policy 30Policy 31

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.

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The decision letter

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

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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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.