A homeowner in Stanmore came to us after Harrow Council served an enforcement notice over a new parking space in his front garden.
He lived in a large three-storey end-of-terrace house with his family. The property originally had only one off-street parking space, despite being in an area with very limited public transport and little spare on-street parking.
To create a second space, he replaced a small part of the front lawn with permeable block paving. He kept the larger landscaped area on the other side of the frontage.
The problem was that permitted development rights had been removed when the housing development was originally granted planning permission. Although this kind of work would normally be permitted development, planning permission was therefore required in this particular case.
Harrow Council had previously refused planning applications for additional hardstanding at the property. It then served an enforcement notice requiring the homeowner to remove the new parking space, reinstate the previous landscaping and clear away all the resulting materials and debris. He was given just one month to comply.
We appealed against the enforcement notice.
Our argument was that the new parking space had only replaced a relatively small area of grass and a larger area of soft landscaping had been retained. Parking in front of houses was already a common feature of the street, including pairs of cars parked side by side, and the additional space fitted comfortably into that existing pattern.
We also pointed out that the property had very poor public transport accessibility and that providing another off-street space reduced pressure on the limited parking available in the street.
The inspector agreed with our arguments.
She found that although some green space had been lost, enough remained to preserve the sense of spaciousness and the general pattern of development. She concluded that the additional hardstanding caused no harm to the character or appearance of the area.
The appeal was allowed, the enforcement notice was quashed and planning permission was granted for the parking space.
The homeowner was therefore able to keep the additional parking space and did not have to dig it up and reinstate the front lawn.
If you are facing enforcement action in Harrow or anywhere else in England, please contact us for some advice.
You can read more about the council’s increasingly tough approach to unauthorised works, and the options open to you if you are on the receiving end, in our guide to planning enforcement in Harrow.
