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Allowed27 November 20253340970

39 Hainault Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 9HA

Planning appeal 3340970 at 39 Hainault Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 9HA (Southend-on-Sea City Council) was allowed on 27 November 2025 by Inspector Thompson F, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the Council's refusal to issue a Lawful Development Certificate was well-founded.

described as ‘House converted into two flats in 1984, used since 2007 as one house. Application under 4 -year rule as there is sufficient evidence to prove this.’

Authority
Southend-on-Sea City Council
Appeal type
ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
residential · Other minor developments
Inspector
Thompson F
Postcode
SS0 9HA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • Whether the Council's refusal to issue a Lawful Development Certificate was well-founded

What decided it

The dated photographs (7 May 2015 and 11 June 2023) showing removal of the internal partition wall, combined with supporting testimony from neighbours and tradespeople and the appellant's own evidence, established on the balance of probabilities that the property had been used as a single dwellinghouse for more than four years before the application date, satisfying the four-year rule for lawfulness.

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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.

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