45 St. James's Park, Lansdown, BATH, BA1 2SX

the reversion of the property from a studio flat and maisonette back into a single dwellinghouse

Authority: Bath and North East Somerset Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Hartley D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the Council's decision to refuse to grant a certificate of lawful use or development was well-founded with particular regard to whether the proposal amounts to a material change of use under section 55 of the Act and whether planning permission is required for it

What decided it

The net loss of one residential unit in the context of a very poor housing land supply position (2.5 years deliverable supply against a 5.0-year requirement) and acute housing need constitutes a material planning consequence that engages planning control.

Plan policies cited: Policy H5 of the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan 2011-2029

Judgments cited: R (oao) The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea v (1) Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2) David Reis (3) Gianna Tong [2016] EWHC 1785 (Admin)

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.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

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