Flat B, 6 Stembridge Road, London, SE20 7UF

Planning appeal 3345576 at Flat B, 6 Stembridge Road, London, SE20 7UF (London Borough of Bromley) was decided (quashed on legal grounds) on 21 March 2025 by Inspector Hand S, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether a lawful C3 use was established in Flat B before the Article 4 direction came into force on 1 September 2022, such that the conversion to C4 HMO use on 31 August 2022 was lawful under the GPDO.

without the required planning permission, the material change of use of the land from a self-contained flat (class C3) to a house in multiple occupation (class C4)

Authority: London Borough of Bromley
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Hand S
Postcode: SE20 7UF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether a lawful C3 use was established in Flat B before the Article 4 direction came into force on 1 September 2022, such that the conversion to C4 HMO use on 31 August 2022 was lawful under the GPDO
Whether the material change of use to C4 HMO is acceptable in terms of design quality, space standards, and amenity impacts

What decided it

The restriction of occupancy to 6 people, combined with compliance with the Council's minimum room size standards and adequate bin storage provision, makes the HMO use acceptable despite the unlawful change of use.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy 4Policy 9Policy 37London Plan policy 6

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 London Borough of Bromley

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.