Cases - Kalra v Secretary of State for the Environment and Waltham Forest Borough Council

Record details

Name

Kalra v Secretary of State for the Environment and Waltham Forest Borough Council

Date

[1996]

Citation

1 PLR 37

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

A solicitor wished to open an office in a shopping area in Leyton in which, in general, only class A1 uses and appropriate A2 and A3 uses were permitted. He was refused permission on the ground that his use was a business use under class B1. He claimed he would be within class A2 on the basis that he would be providing a friendly, cheap and convenient access to legal advice to the North Indian ethnic community, whose language he spoke. He would not be doing conveyancing or commercial work.

The inspector had rejected his appeal, partly on the ground that a solicitor's office would not be 'appropriate to provide in a shopping area'. The Court of Appeal held that this was an error of law. The requirement that a service be appropriate in a shopping area only applies to paragraph (c) (other services) not financial or professional services. The issue was whether the solicitor would be providing services principally to visiting members of the public, rather as a law centre or Citizens' Advice Bureau does. This is an issue of fact. The use of a system of appointments does not necessarily mean that services are not provided principally to visiting members of the public. Hairdressers use appointments. If a solicitor could plausibly say that he intended to run an A2 office, and the local planning authority have no reason to disbelieve him, all they can do is grant permission and then monitor the situation.