Issue - meetings

CERTIFICATE OF LAWFUL DEVELOPMENT GRANTED

Description of application – This Lawful Development application seeks to establish the use of extensions (identified as red, blue and green in Exhibit 1) to detached building and residential use ancillary to main dwellinghouse for more than four years before the date of the application (11.02.2019).

Oral representations in objection to and in support of the application were received at the meeting.

The Legal Representative advised that the Certificate of Lawfulness was solely for the rear extension to the outbuilding as identified in the application.  Despite those further extensions to the outbuilding being added, the overall use of the site including the original dwellinghouse remained as a single dwelling house.  Government guidance suggested that if there was no evidence to refute the information that the outbuilding had been continually occupied for more than four years preceding the date of the application, then a Certificate of Lawfulness should be granted.  The extension was originally built in 2007 and occupied by the applicant’s disabled mother who passed away in 2011.  At the end of 2013 and in early 2014, a second extension was added and the applicant’s son moved into the building in 2014.  A further single storey rear element and decking (not included in this application) was added in 2018.  Satisfied that the extension as applied for had been occupied for a period of more than four years, the Legal Representative supported the granting of a Certificate.

Whilst Members were in favour of granting a Certificate, they were concerned about the addition of the single storey rear element and decking in 2018 and suggested that these be investigated as a separate issue.

Members having considered the report, objections and representations, RESOLVED that a CERTIFICATE OF LAWFULNESS BE GRANTEDas recommended in the report of the Assistant Director, Planning with the addition of an informative to read:-

The applicants are reminded that there are elements of unlawful development on site.  These are subject to a separate enforcement investigation.