The Sail Lofts, The Hythe, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5HN

the use of the Sail Loft - Class C3 dwellinghouse and the Granary - mixed use as amenity/recreation room and workshop

Authority: Maldon District Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Boffin D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The main issue is whether the Council's decision to refuse to grant an LDC was well-founded.

What decided it

The Inspector's finding, on the balance of probabilities, that the change of use of the Sail Loft to a single dwellinghouse occurred before 9 August 2015 and continued without significant interruption for four years thereafter, rendering it immune from enforcement.

Plan policies cited: CC12

Judgments cited: FSS v Arun DC & Brown [2006] EWCA Civ 1172; Burdle & Williams v SSE & New Forest RDC [1972] 1 WLR 1207; Welwyn Hatfield BC v SSCLG & Beesley [2011] UKSC 15; [2011] JPL 1183; Moore v SSCLG & Suffolk Coastal DC [2012] EWCA Civ 2101

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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