Cases - Hewlett v Secretary of State for the Environment

Record details

Name

Hewlett v Secretary of State for the Environment

Date

[1985]

Citation

1 EGLR 170

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

The appellant owned a small building with only three walls. He jacked up the roof, undertook certain operations to the walls in turn, then worked on the roof itself. He claimed that as each stage of the work was merely an improvement, the fully improved building must be the same building, albeit improved. The Divisional Court noted that this claim was inconsistent with Sainty and Larkin. It is a matter of fact and degree, not a question of law, for the Secretary of State to determine whether the works amount to improvements or the construction of a new building.