®Planning appeal decision
Baldwin House, 290-298 Baldwins Lane, Birmingham, B28 0XB
Without planning permission, the unauthorised change of use of the rear of the premises to two self-contained flats in the approximate position marked in green on the attached plan
- Authority
- Birmingham City Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Griffin E
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the development upon the living conditions of the occupants of the flats having particular regard to the provision of private outside amenity space
- the effect of the development upon the living conditions of the occupants of the flats having particular regard to the provision of internal space, outlook and natural light
- the suitability of the development for housing with particular regard to its location and context
What decided it
The significant harm to living conditions arising from inadequate private amenity space, internal space below technical standards, and poor outlook and natural light, combined with the out-of-context backland location, outweighed the modest housing benefits even under the tilted balance.
Although the tilted balance was engaged due to lack of five-year housing land supply, the adverse impacts of harm to living conditions and poor design in an out-of-context location significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of two additional flats and local economic contributions.
Framework references: 11, 130
Plan policies cited: Policy PG3, Policy TP27, Policy TP35, Policy DM2, Policy DM10
Judgments cited: Somak Travel v SSE & Brent LBC [1987] JPL 630
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.