We are pleased to have had a number of appeal successes following refusals of planning permission for extensions in west and north-west London, especially in the boroughs of Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Brent and Barnet.
Our last 7 appeal successes have been in these 5 boroughs. They refuse more applications, and more householder applications in particular, than most other councils in England.
Harrow takes a particularly strict approach to householder developments and applies out of date guidance that has not been updated in years. We have a particularly high success rate against Harrow and had 4 appeal successes against Harrow in July and August.
Hillingdon dislikes larger extensions that are visible from the street (especially two-storey side extensions) and also has a particular dislike of new infill dwellings. We had 3 appeal successes against Hillingdon in July and August.
Hounslow, Brent and Barnet come next. We were pleased to win an appeal in Hounslow against a two-storey side extension only yesterday and an appeal in Brent relating to a single-storey rear extension, won at the end of last week. Hounslow’s particular obsession is outbuildings and we work a number of enforcement cases relating to outbuildings in the borough each year.
That was a particularly unreasonable decision by Brent – it was for a single-storey rear extension replacing an existing extension in the same location and with virtually the same dimensions. The inspector granted our appeal but, to our disappointment, decided not to require Brent to pay our costs.
If you are in one of the outer West London boroughs and have recently been refused planning permission for a development (a single-storey rear extension, dormer loft extension, porch, outbuilding etc) get in touch with our friendly planning team for some free advice. A refusal planning permission is never the end of the road.
