Land adjacent to Romani St. Albans Road, South Mimms, POTTERS BAR, Hertfordshire, EN6 3PP

the material change of use of the land to a construction contractors depot for uses including the storage of building materials, the parking and storage of plant, machinery and vehicles, the siting of containers for the storage of tools and equipment, the operation of plant and equipment to load and unload vehicles, the siting of a portable cabin in use for office purposes, the maintenance of vehicles together with the erection of associated fencing and the laying of hardstanding

Authority: Hertsmere Borough Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Hand S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the use benefits from immunity from enforcement under ground (d)
Whether the frontage fence benefits from permitted development rights under ground (c)
Whether a temporary planning permission should be granted under ground (a)
Whether the hardstanding is immune from enforcement under ground (f)
Whether the compliance period should be extended under ground (g)

What decided it

The Inspector concluded that the previous lawful use of the site had been abandoned through prolonged non-use and dereliction, meaning the appellant's contractor's depot use could not rely on any prior lawful use or immunity, and its serious harm to Green Belt openness was not outweighed by the claimed economic benefits.

The potential loss of some 50 jobs did not outweigh the serious harm to the Green Belt and to neighbours' amenities, so a temporary planning permission was refused.

Judgments cited: Hartley v MHLG [1970] 2 WLR 1; Trustees of Castell-Y-Mynach Estate v SSW [1985] JPL 40; Murfitt principle

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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.