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Dismissed30 January 20263367783

Signature House Ltd, Signature House 232A Rainhill Road, Rainhill, Prescot, L35 4LD

Planning appeal 3367783 at Signature House Ltd, Signature House 232A Rainhill Road, Rainhill, Prescot, L35 4LD (St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council) was dismissed on 30 January 2026 by Inspector Cryan M, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposed loss of employment land or premises has been adequately justified.

a change of use from a 19 serviced offices business centre (Use Class E) to a 17 bedroom HMO (Use Class Sui Generis)

Authority
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type
minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
residential · Change of use
Inspector
Cryan M
Postcode
L35 4LD

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • Whether the proposed loss of employment land or premises has been adequately justified
  • Whether the development would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers, with particular regard to the provision of adequate communal facilities, amenity space, and outlook and daylight
  • Whether the development would be likely to lead to an increase in demand for on-street parking which would compromise safety for pedestrians and road users

What decided it

The failure to adequately justify the loss of employment premises, combined with unacceptable living conditions for future occupiers and unmitigated parking impacts, meant the proposal conflicted with the development plan taken as a whole.

The moderate benefits of housing delivery and brownfield reuse in a sustainable location were outweighed by the failure to justify loss of employment use, inadequate living conditions for occupiers, and unmitigated parking and highway safety impacts.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy LPA03Policy LPD01Policy LPD02Policy LPC01Policy LPA06

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.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

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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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.