Cases - R (Welwyn Hatfield Council) v Secretary of State
Record details
- Name
- R (Welwyn Hatfield Council) v Secretary of State
- Date
- [2011]
- Citation
- UKSC 15
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Enforcement notice
- Summary
-
Mr Beesley sought planning permission for a hay barn. Permission was granted subject to a condition restricting its use to the storage of agricultural produce. However, Mr Beesley admitted that he never had any intention of using the building as a barn and, although it looked like a barn from the outside, it was laid out internally as a dwelling lit by rooflights and ceiling openings. After 4 years living in the building, Mr Beesley applied for a certificate of lawful use under section 171B(2), that is, change of use of a building to use as a single dwelling house for a period of 4 years. The local planning authority (LPA) contended that, as the building did not have the external features of a dwelling house, it was not a dwelling house, so the 4-year rule did not apply.
The Supreme Court held that, as the 'barn' had been designed and built as a house, the planning permission had not been implemented and so the building had no permitted use. It was not correct to regard the 'barn' as having no use before it was occupied in circumstances where it had recently been completed and its owner had intended to occupy it shortly thereafter. There was therefore no change of use so as to fall within the 4-year rule in section 171B(2) (change of use to a single dwellinghouse) and so it was not immune from enforcement.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court took the view that the principle that a person should not be able to profit from his or her wrong was not confined to criminal activities. Section 171B(2) could not have been intended to cover the deception in this case, involving as it did a fraudulent planning application. Accordingly, even if Mr Beesley had had the benefit of the 4-year rule, it would not have barred the LPA from taking enforcement action.