Seldon Farm, Monkokehampton, Devon, EX19 8RY

Planning appeal 3330371 at Seldon Farm, Monkokehampton, Devon, EX19 8RY (West Devon Borough Council) was allowed on 27 March 2025 by Inspector Ghafoor A, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the use of the timber chalet and associated garden curtilage area as an annexe to the main house constitutes a lawful use immune from enforcement action by virtue of the passage of time.

Use of timber chalet and associated garden curtilage area as annexe to main house

Authority: West Devon Borough Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Ghafoor A
Postcode: EX19 8RY

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the use of the timber chalet and associated garden curtilage area as an annexe to the main house constitutes a lawful use immune from enforcement action by virtue of the passage of time

What decided it

The appellant's evidence, uncontradicted by the Council, established that the timber chalet and its garden curtilage were functionally integral to the main dwelling's residential use, remained part of a single planning unit in single family occupation, and had been so used for more than four years before the relevant date, thereby acquiring immunity from enforcement action.

What the Inspector cited

Judgments: Burdle and Williams v SSE and New Forest DC [1972] 1 WLR 1207; Uttlesford DC v SSE & White [1992] JPL 171; Sage v SSHCLG & Bromley LBC [2021] EWHC 2885 (Admin)

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in West Devon

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.