39 Hainault Avenue, WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA, SS0 9HA

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

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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