RCC had worked on a number of proposals at this property and when we were asked to advise on a proposal to convert an existing garage to an annex we were very positive about the proposal, even though when the garage was permitted the council has added a planning condition preventing the garage from being used as living accommodation.
We were therefore hugely disappointed when the council refused the planning application and stated that the proposal was tantamount to a new dwelling in the countryside. Such a judgement was in our view contrary to the well established case law on annex proposals, all of which had been set out in our detailed planning statement but ignored by the planners.
We did not hesitate to recommend submitting a planning appeal against this decision to the Planning Inspectorate and we also advised our clients that we should claim for costs against the council as we considered their decision was 'unreasonable'. Even when appeals are won claims for costs are only rarely allowed. We were therefore extremely please when the appeal decision came through to allow the annex and also award full costs against the council who will now have to pay the costs incurred by our clients to pursue the unnecessary appeal.
