East Dorset District Council: Pure Town Planning have successfully negotiated an application to remove a historic condition dating from 2005 to allow the use of a listed building near Wimborne for class B1(office) use by any occupier.
In 2005 East Dorset District Council (EDDC) granted planning permission and listed building consent to convert the application site from a hotel to an office premises (Use Class B1). Condition 5 of planning permission restricted the occupation of the office premises to the sole business operations of the applicant, therefore prohibiting the building to be used for office purposes by any other occupier and effectively personalising the planning permission to the applicant.
When the permission was granted, our client was content with the condition as the occupation of the premises was part of their long term company vision. However, as time passed they became increasingly concerned with the restrictive nature of the condition and realised it could have severe financial implications for the company. After all, if they wanted to relocate their operations who would acquire an office premises that they couldn’t use?
Our client approached us for advice and after reviewing the wording of the condition we concluded that the Local Planning Authority had acted unreasonably by imposing such a condition. We were subsequently instructed to prepare, submit and manage an application to remove the condition in accordance with the provision of Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
As part of the application, Chris prepared a clear and concise supporting statement which the concluded that the imposition of the condition was unreasonable and contrary to Paragraph 206 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) in relation to conditions. Upon consideration of the application the case officer agreed with our conclusion and subsequently removed the restrictive condition from the 2005 planning permission.
The client was delighted with the decision and whilst they have no plans to relocate their business operations elsewhere, they can now rest assured if they do choose to do so, they will be able to easily dispose of their existing premises.
As evident in this case, here at Pure Town Planning we pride ourselves on our technical knowledge of the planning system and we regularly help clients overcome technical burdens. If you have a technical inquiry or perhaps you wish to vary an extant approval, then why not give us a call or send us an email to info@puretownplanning.co.uk.