Bloomfields had earlier obtained planning permission for the conversion of a redundant agricultural storage building to a single residential dwelling. Following this, our client sought to undertake the conversion of the building but, following liaison with the council’s Building Control department, it was considered better for parts of the construction to be carried out as a rebuild.

This work was undertaken before our client received a notice from the council to cease works and make a retrospective planning application for the reconstruction of the building as a dwelling.

We were pleased to prepare a chronology of building and handle representations with the council to explain that the works had been carried out with the agreement of the Building Regulation department and that, whilst the works had included elements of rebuild, the development was still consistent with planning policy.

The Council has now agreed that the development continues to protect the openness of the Metropolitan Green Belt and preserves the character of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

If you have a building which may need to be rebuilt in order to facilitate its use as a dwelling, we would advise you to seek professional planning advice early to avoid protracted issues and potential enforcement action from the council.