Graham Gover Solicitor

I was recently asked to advise a client who wanted to find a legitimate way to demolish a hotel that was locally listed. Planning permission for an extension had been refused, and local listing meant that demolition was ‘discouraged’, but not prohibited. Demolition also meant that prior notice had to be given to the

Continue reading Demolition – new burdens for developers

I recently sounded off about the change to OS X Lion causing problems with unsupported software. One major casualty was Dropbox, but that was caused by the fact that I had not upgraded to the latest version. That was due in part to Dropbox being uncharacteristically poor at informing clients of the availability of

Continue reading Problems with OS X 10.7 Lion printer drivers solved

I mentioned in a previous post that I have been keeping a watchful eye on the enforcement provisions of the Localism Bill, especially the concealment provisions. The bill, as first drafted, would have removed from the protection of the certificate of lawful development all breaches that had been concealed from the planning authority. Concealment

Continue reading Concealment provisions of the Localism Bill

Greg Clark has today unveiled the draft document that ‘could’ be the basis of the presumption that development will be granted where it is sustainable development. You will recall in the budget speech the Chancellor referred to the default response to development will be “yes”. The “yes” is a qualified one. It will only

Continue reading Presumption in favour of sustainable development

Every so often I come across some law that needs to be shared but won’t wait until one of my formal planning seminars. The Supreme Court judgment is one of those cases. I am hosting a QND* seminar at the Music Room, Exeter Central Library at 4pm on Friday 6 May 2011. We will

Continue reading QND seminar on the “hay barn” case – Exeter Central Library 4pm 6 May 2011

It is a well-established principle that land law issues cannot be used to frustrate an application for planning permission. The existence of a private right, such as a right of way or an easement, cannot be cited in opposition to a planning application, but these issues will have to be dealt with when it

Continue reading When land law and planning law collide

The Supreme Court has not supported the Planning Inspectorate or the Court of Appeal who both decided that a certificate of lawful use could be granted for the hay barn that was built as a luxury dwelling while keeping the outward appearance of the barn.

The Supreme Court held first that the

Continue reading Planning to deceive: the hay barn case overturned

Last October the Government varied the permitted development rules to allow a change from single private dwelling to a house in multiple occupation (an HMO) without the need to apply for planning permission. Some council’s have responded by making an Article 4 declaration preventing that change and thus having the power to prevent it

Continue reading HMO’s: will the Government’s legislation be overturned?

The Government issued a number of statements on and after the Budget Day, and here are the most interesting and important ones.

The Plan for Growth, written by HM Treasury and Dept for Business

“The Government is committed to ensuring that the planning system does everything it can to support growth. This statement of

Continue reading More details on the Budget 2011 planning proposals

After my recent comments on the 2011 Budget, a little more information has been drip-fed to us. Here is a round-up of the Budget and what we have learned subsequently

General points

A 12-month guarantee for processing all planning applications, including the time taken to appeal.

The

Continue reading Further information on the Budget planning issues