Angelica Rokad acts for the successful Appellant in quashing a planning enforcement notice

Angelica Rokad, instructed by Susan Jones of the Susan Jones Consultancy, was instructed to advise and represent the successful Appellant, Frances Hickling of Imperial Day Nursery in a planning enforcement notice appeal.

The LPA issued an enforcement notice on fencing installed by the Appellant on land used as a children’s nursery. The basis upon which the LPA issued the enforcement notice was on the grounds of visual amenity to the surrounding street scene. However, the Appellant appealed on Grounds A, C, D and G and noted (amongst other matters) the large fencing installed by a neighbouring site which appeared not to be considered in the decision to issue an enforcement notice, nor mentioned in the Council’s Statement of Case.

The case also touched on recent case law concerning the extent of permitted development rights on fencing Bright Horizons Family Solutions Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2019] PTSR 818, the ‘fallback’ position and the extent to which the structures enforced against were operational development (R (Save Woolley Valley Action Group Ltd) v Bath and North East Somerset Council [2012] EWHC 2161 (Admin)).

The Inspector was persuaded to quash the enforcement notice and grant planning permission for the development enforced against. As well as persuading the Inspector to quash the notice, the Appellant was also awarded her full costs of making the appeal on the basis of unreasonable behaviour by the LPA, namely, a failure to properly investigate fencing in the local area before issuing the enforcement notice, or indeed at any point within its appeal documentation.

A copy of the decision can be found here

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