24 Meadow Road, WALSALL, WS9 0ST

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the Council's decision to refuse to issue a certificate of lawful use or development was well-founded, turning on whether the proposed use as a care home for up to three children or young people would remain within Class C3(b) of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended, or if not, whether the use proposed would not in any case comprise a material change of use

What decided it

The pattern of life and use with two carers on duty all night, multiple comings and goings at unsociable hours seven days a week, and staff changeovers creating increased activity and disturbance, demonstrates a use materially different in character to that of a single household, and the appellant failed to prove otherwise on the balance of probabilities.