A Powerful Permitted Development Right: Class MA

On 1 August 2021, the government bestowed a great gift on property developers – it was the first day for a new permitted development right to convert commercial premises into flats. Many developers have built whole businesses around commercial-to-resi conversions. So what is the new Class MA right and what opportunities does it present for […]

Radical changes to the Use Classes Order – What is the new Class E?

It has a been a busy few weeks in planning, and the government has just announced yet more planning reforms. You may be familiar with the Use Classes Order – it divides the ‘uses’ of land and property into different classes. Class A1 covers shops for example, and A3 restaurants. Offices come under B1, flats […]

New permitted development right to add two extra floors to blocks of flats

The government has introduced a new permitted development right allowing developers to add two extra floors to detached blocks of flats. The new permitted development right comes into force on the 1 August 2020 and is set out as Class A, Part 20, Schedule 2 of the General Permitted Development Order (the GPDO). The wording […]

Planners targeting Airbnb landlords with Enforcement Notices

A record number of people visiting the UK are taking advantage of cheap and flexible Airbnb rentals, as the short-lets website continues its explosive growth. However, the site’s success is creating a backlash as neighbours complain about noise and disturbance, and the battle is moving to local council planning departments. Renting out your home for […]

Received an enforcement notice? How to persuade the council to withdraw it

Just Planning recently persuaded Enfield, Hounslow, Hillingdon & Ealing councils to withdraw enforcement notices. How? What is a planning enforcement notice? Councils have the power to serve an enforcement notice if they believe that a development (or change of use) has been carried out without planning permission. They may also serve a notice if a […]

Permitted Development Rights – When is an Outbuilding ‘Reasonably Required’?

In the few years, we have won 100% of our planning appeals against councils refusing outbuildings on the basis that they were not reasonably required for purposes incidental to the main use of the house. Houses in England have permitted development rights for various types of development, meaning they can go ahead and carry out […]

The nightmare of receiving an Enforcement Notice against your dormer roof extension

Every month, we help homeowners who are facing enforcement action after building a dormer extension to the roof of their property.  In most cases the homeowner has made an innocent mistake. They thought their dormer was ‘permitted development’ (not requiring any kind of planning permission), but planning permission was required in their case. Councils issue […]

The Sunday Times quotes our research in a 7 page feature on the planning crisis

In the Home section of today’s Sunday Times, journalist Martina Lees provides a detailed analysis of a crisis in the planning system. The article (which can be read here) features our detailed research on the proportion of planning applications approved by various councils up and down the country, the delays in the approval of some […]

Newham Council loses planning appeal and is required to pay our client’s full costs

On 2 September, we received notification that we had been successful in a planning appeal against a refusal of planning permission for a straightforward first floor rear extension in Forest Gate, in the London Borough of Newham.  The refusal of planning permission had been particularly unreasonable. The extension that our client was proposing was virtually identical […]