The government has introduced new permitted development rights making it easier to add additional floors to commercial buildings and blocks of flats. We wrote about the new rights when they first came out.
Councils are generally not keen on this permitted development right – they are cautious about upwards extensions and generally dislike government measures that limit their ability to decide planning applications!
The new permitted development rights are set out under Part 20 of the General Permitted Development Order. Class A of Part 20 allows extensions to detached blocks of flats.
In this case, Newham Council refused prior approval on the basis that the new floor would harm living conditions at neighbouring properties by reducing light and outlook and being overbearing and creating a sense of enclosure.
We commissioned a Sunlight & Daylight Assessment which showed that the development would not harm neighbours in terms of a loss of light. The appeal inspector noted that the council did not submit any evidence to counter the findings of this report. The inspector also disagreed that the there would be any materially overbearing impact.
We are delighted with the outcome! Please drop us a line if you are facing planning challenges.
