ET Planning has successfully resolved a recent planning case where a permission’s conditions were not in line with the original proposal and actually partially prevented the use that the decision granted, from occurring.
In late 2017, ET Planning, along with their Farnham client, received planning permission for a change of use of a livery yard to a livery yard and riding school. The original permission included two conditions which were unreasonable, and if not addressed would have seriously impacted the client and the equestrian business. The first condition restricted the use of the facilities, and under the terms, the horses would technically have had to be removed from the site entirely outside the operating hours specified in the decision’s condition. This therefore contradicted the purpose behind approving planning permission for the use. The second condition placed a restriction on who could reside in a cottage which was situated within the grounds of the livery yard. This condition meant that only those who owned or worked at the business would be able to live on site – and not their partners.
ET Planning explained to Hart District Council that these original conditions did not meet the six tests of reasonableness, as stipulated by the NPPG. The Council admitted fault and have since approved a resubmission of the same application with much less restrictive conditions.
In this instance, the client was entitled to a free resubmission and thanks to ET Planning, the case has been resolved in a timely manner – only four months after the original submission was granted. Had this gone through to an appeal, this could have been a lengthy and costly process for the client.
This story highlights the importance of understanding the extent, and potential impacts, of the conditions received within your planning permission, so that should you need to resubmit or appeal, you are still within the legal timeframe to do this.
A helpful tip – contact your local planning officer to see if you can view a draft set of planning conditions prior to a decision being made. If you are not content with them after a permission has been granted, you can take advantage of the appeal process.