This case started for us when we were contacted by our client because they had received an enforcement notice issued by East Herts council following a series of applications and appeals that had failed, the client wanted to ensure that there were no more options prior to taking down the building as being advised by their planning agent and in compliance with the enforcement notice.
This case had quite a large amount of history. Starting with a previous application for an outbuilding that during that permission the local authority had removed the clients permitted development rights from the entire site, which would have allowed them to build this building without the need for a permission.
The site is also located within the Green belt which means additional policies are in place to restrict development.
The building was predominately used to store equipment for maintaining the surrounding woods and drying logs. The client was not aware that this type of building would need a separate planning permission and if the sites permitted development rights had not been removed it would not have.
A retrospective application was submitted to East Herts Council on 7th February 2019, and refused on 4th April 2019
East Herts refusal stated that the development constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt. The proposal would also result in further harm by loss of openness, they also state that they feel very special circumstances have not been identified that would clearly outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness, the incursion into the countryside and the departure from the existing grain of development in the locality.
East Herts stated that The proposal would therefore be contrary to Policies GBR1, DES3, DES4 and HOU12 of the East Herts District Plan 2018 and the National Planning Policy Framework.
An appeal to the Planning Inspectorate was produced by our clients then planning agent, which was subsequently dismissed on 3rd April 2020 in a 5 page document that effectively states that the building would affect the openness of the Green Belt although the inspector also stated in the report that the building was well screened by the woods and is unlikely to be viewed.
Off the back of that appeal dismissal, East Herts Council served an Enforcement Notice, stating that they believed a breach of planning control had occurred and inappropriate development within the Green belt had occured.
The enforcement notice from East Hertfordshire District Council stated that to comply our client should
1) Permanently remove from the land the building, marked in red on their map.
2) Remove from the land all the resultant materials following compliance.
No further options were made available.
The enforcement notice was issued on 12th August 2020 and the client was given until 9th September 2020 to submit an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate or the enforcement would become active and would need to be complied by 9th March 2021.
Further details are available on the video above
Enforcement Planning Appeal Green Belt East Herts Council Case Study
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