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LPC Law Notes Commercial Property Notes

Planning Permission Issues Notes

Updated Planning Permission Issues Notes

Commercial Property Notes

Commercial Property

Approximately 50 pages

A collection of the best LPC notes the Oxbridge Notes editorial team could find after having looked through dozens of applications. This single-author set of LPC notes is fully updated for recent exams.

The author of these notes earned a high 1.1/distinction at the OXILP....

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Commercial Property

Planning Permission

UK Planning system

  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990 [TCPA]: sets out the main framework of the UK planning system.

  • Department of Communities and Local Government [DCLG]: central government department which has responsibility for town and country planning. It has 3 functions [Legislative; administrative; Quasi-jurisdictional].

  • Local Planning Department [LPA]: the decision makers around planning.

Planning Inspectorate to step in when LPA cannot deal with the issue effectively

When is planning permission required

  • S.57 TCPA 1990 = PP is needed whenever “any development of land” is being carried out.

  • S.55(1) = definition of development

“The carrying out of building, engineering, mining, or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land”

Operations

  1. Operational Development

  • S.55(1A) TCPA:

  • Building operations = rebuilding; structural alterations; additions to buildings

  • Also: engineering and mining operations

  • S.55(2)(a): Changes to the interior which do not materially affect external appearance and does not provide additional underground space will not be considered a development [but tell client they should consider “Building Regulations.”]

  1. Demolition

  • S.55(1A) = demolition is an operational development.

  • SAVE Britain’s Herritage v SSCLG: quashed Paragraph 2(1)(a)-(d) Demolition Direction 1995. Demolition to listed buildings / buildings in a conservation area / monuments are now classed as a “development” – so no longer exempt from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Therefore these buildings can be treated the same as residential buildings generally.

[Before this they could not apply for planning permission and SOS had to approve instead].

  • GPDO Part 31: No pp for demolition development BUT Developer will need to apply to the LPA to secure prior approval for the proposed method of demolition.

  • Is any other consent needed – e.g. heritage properties require further consent

  • Commission v Ireland: demolition works come within the scope of EIA Directive. Therefore it may be necessary to issue a screening opinion on the whether an environmental impact assessment is needed. [Will it have significant impact on environment?]

Material change of use

  1. What is Material?

  • Not defined in Act

  • Question of fact / degree

  • Case-law = courts will not normally interfere on the issue of materiality unless the decision is totally unreasonable on the facts.

  • SOS / one of his inspectors will generally decide this issue of materiality.

  1. Statutory clarification

  • S.55(3): 2 or more separate dwelling houses previously used as a single dwelling house.

  • S.55(5): the deposit / refusal of waste material

  • Town and Country Planning [Use Classes] Order 1987 = lists classes of use. [See p.32/33]. A change of use between classes will be material.

  • Exclusions S.55(2)(f): use remains within the same class under the UCO 1987.

General Permitted Development Order 1995 (GPDO) = Narrows down the developments that require planning permission. [If the development falls within the order then the development does not need PP]

  • Demolition: Part 31 GDPO – permits demolition of a building [except where there are health and safety issued]

  • Small Scale developments

  • Changes of use

  • Minor operations: erecting enclosure [e.g. a fence]; painting of exterior.

  • Development within the curtilage of a dwelling house [e.g. building a porch; mending a roof]

GDPO checklist:

  1. Limitations imposed by GPDO have been complied with

  2. Conditions of existing PP – does it exclude the GPDO

  3. Is land subject to a special development order [SDO] – it might restrict the GPDO

Use Classes Order 1987: Planning permission can be required for a significant change of use

  • Order generally allows change of use WITHIN classes

  • Need Permission if you change BETWEEN classes

  • Do the exemptions apply?

  • Some changes come within “permitted development”

    • Resumption of previous use [S.56 TCPA]

    • GPDO

  • Alternative to getting planning permission for change of use:

  • Ss.191-192 TCPA 1990: A person can apply for ‘Certificate of Lawful Use and Development”. [For the PROPOSED USE of the site]. The grant of a certificate means there is a presumption of lawfulness as regards to the USE of the land.

  • Certificate of Existing use: If previous works [carried out by the seller] have been done without planning permission.

Advice to client – Preliminary steps for planning permission

  1. Is Planning permission needed at all? [see above]

  2. Drafting the planning application:

  • What does Development plan say?

  • Consider any “...

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