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Restaurant outdoor seating saved after Barking & Dagenham withdraws enforcement notice

Photograph of a restaurant in Dagenham subject to a planning enforcement notice

Just Planning has persuaded Barking & Dagenham Council to withdraw an enforcement notice requiring the removal of an outdoor seating area at an Italian restaurant in Whitebarn Lane, Dagenham. Our client had recently taken over the lease of a successful local restaurant. The restaurant itself is relatively small inside, and the outdoor seating area was […]

Brent success: Certificate of Lawfulness for two self-contained flats

A photograph of the front of a row of houses

This case related to an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the use of part of a residential property in the London Borough of Brent as two self-contained flats. The property had been subdivided into multiple units without planning permission. The application relied on evidence that the use of the ground floor and top […]

Certificate of lawfulness granted for 14 flats (four-year rule)

This case concerned a building that had been converted into 14 self-contained flats without planning permission. The flats had been in place for several years, but no formal confirmation of their lawfulness had been obtained. This created uncertainty as to the planning status of the property. If a building is converted into flats without planning […]

Certificate of lawfulness granted for a house (four-year rule)

This case concerned a property that had been in use as a separate house for many years, but without any formal confirmation that the use was lawful. The dwelling had originally been created from a two-storey side extension to number 5 Kentwode Green. Although it had clearly been used as a separate, self-contained house for […]

Lawful Development Certificate Granted – Creation of Separate Dwellings

The four year rule The Town & Country Planning Act allows that development without planning permission becomes lawful after four years (the four year rule) or ten years (the ten year rule). The four year rule applies to physical development (such as building an extension) or a change of use creating a new dwelling. The […]

Certificate of lawfulness for the use of a building as two separate flats

If new flats or houses are created without planning permission, they can become lawful after a period of time has passed. This is often referred to as the ‘four year rule’. In this case, our client had converted an outbuilding at the rear of his property into two separate flats. The works had taken place […]