The Annex, 1 Eastcourt Avenue, Earley, Wokingham, RG6 1HH

a material change of use of existing single storey side extension to a single dwellinghouse

Authority: Wokingham Borough Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Hand S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the extension was used as an independent dwelling for a continuous period of four years prior to the enforcement notice, such that the use had become lawful under section 174(2)(d)
Whether the enforcement notice was properly served and the steps required are proportionate under section 174(2)(f)

What decided it

The appellant failed to demonstrate that the extension had been used as an independent dwelling for the required continuous four-year period prior to the enforcement notice, as all evidence including the appellant's own contemporaneous statements to the Council indicated the separate residential use commenced only in August 2020.

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