Appeal 3268425
Public case and site metadata stored from the official casework database, including fields that were empty in the source release.
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Official decision document
The decision, section by section
5 sections
Read the development description and the Inspector’s text from the official decision PDF in source order. Source headings are retained where available. Personal and contact details are removed by an automated privacy filter; this is source material, not Rules for You analysis.
Section 01
Development description
use of a former domestic garage and attached timber building and adjoining grassed amenity areas and access, as a single dwellinghouse and associated residential curtilage.
Section 02
Decision
The appeal is allowed and attached to this decision is a certificate of lawful use or development describing the existing use which is found to be lawful.
Section 03
Main Issue
Under s191(2)(a) of the 1990 Act, uses are lawful at any time if no enforcement action may then be taken in respect of them because the time for enforcement action has expired. The relevant time limit in the change of use of any building to use as a single dwellinghouse is four years beginning with the date of the breach as set out under s171B(2) of the 1990 Act. Therefore, the main issue is whether, on the balance of probability, the use applied for had subsisted for four years by the date of the LDC application. This is 6 June 2020 which is hereafter referred to as the material date.
Section 04
Reasons
The only evidence that I have from the Council, apart from the Appeal Questionnaire, is a planning officer report which considers the appellant’s application and supporting information and documentation. The report concludes “The proposal, its submitted information and Council photographic evidence all confirm consistent use of the former garage building and associated land as residential use for a period of greater than four years. Therefore, the time for enforcement action has expired. There is no evidence to contradict the applicant’s version of events and on the balance of probability the proposal is acceptable and no material reasons to refuse the application are evident. It is therefore considered that the case is lawful and has been satisfied under the terms of section 191(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and that, a certificate should be issued”.
I have no contradictory evidence from the Council or any other source. In light of this, and having the reviewed the submitted material myself, I am satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently precise and unambiguous to show, as a matter of fact and degree, that the use applied for was lawful by the material date.
Section 05
Conclusion
For the reasons given above I conclude, on the evidence available, that the appeal should succeed. I will exercise the powers transferred to me under section 195(2) of the 1990 Act as amended.
Planning inspector and document dates
The official casework attribution is grouped under a one-way keyed hash and shown only by its local identifier. Decision-letter dates and page references are extracted by fixed first-page rules and checked against that authoritative record.
Appeal Decision
- Extracted inspector · page 1
- Inspector attribution ID 314No official casework-database value to compare
- Extracted decision date · page 1
- 8 July 2021Matches the official casework database
Reference and authority
Official identifiers and the planning authority recorded against this case.
- Case reference
- 3268425
- Application reference
- 07/20/0443/LDC
- Lead case reference
- Not recorded
- Planning authority
- Broxbourne Borough Council
- Planning authority code
- E07000095
Casework details
The casework, procedure, development and linking details supplied by the official record.
- Casework type
- Lawful Development Certificate
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development type
- Change of use
- Appeal type reason
- 2. The LPA's failure to give notice of their decision within the appropriate period on an application for a certificate of lawful use or development
- Appeal reason
- Failure
- Type detail
- Unknown
- Jurisdiction
- Transferred
- Link status
- Not Linked
Site and development
Published appeal-site measurements and planning designations, without the withheld precise location fields.
- Site area
- Not recorded
- Floor space
- Not recorded
- Number of residences
- 0
- Site in Green Belt
- No
- Agricultural holding
- Not recorded
- Affects setting of a listed building
- Not recorded
- Historic building grant made
- Not recorded
- Relates to a conservation area
- Not recorded
- Flooding is an issue
- Not recorded
- Site within an AONB
- Not recorded
- Site within an SSSI
- Not recorded
Decision and dates
The published outcome and every imported case date.
- Official decision
- Allowed
- Decision category
- Allowed
- Received date
- 5 February 2021
- Valid date
- 8 February 2021
- Start date
- 23 March 2021
- Planning authority decision date
- Not recorded
- Appeal decision date
- 8 July 2021
Case administration
Published recovery, call-in, costs and enforcement information for this case.
- Redetermined
- No
- Bespoke
- No
- Date recovered
- Not recorded
- Date not recovered or derecovered
- Not recorded
- Call-in date
- Not recorded
- Costs applied for
- Not recorded
- Enforcement grounds count
- Not recorded
- Enforcement grounds
- Not recorded
Source and catalogue history
When this record appeared in the rolling official release and when the catalogue stored it.
- Source
- Planning Inspectorate casework database
- Source data system
- Horizon
- Dataset status
- Current release
- Catalogue record ID
- 388
- First seen
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Last seen
- 20 August 2026 at 16:25
- Removed from release
- Not recorded
- Record created
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Record updated
- 20 August 2026 at 16:25