The Lock House , Trent lane , Great Haywood , Staffordshire , ST18 0ST

Authority: Stafford Borough Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Hitchcock R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether a refusal of the application for a certificate of lawful use would have been well-founded, specifically whether the use of the buildings as a single dwelling commenced at least 4 years before 2 March 2022 and continued without significant interruption

What decided it

The appellant's evidence was insufficiently precise and ambiguous regarding when residential use commenced and whether it persisted continuously for four years prior to the application, failing to discharge the burden of proof required for a certificate of lawful use.

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