Cases - Watts v Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
Record details
- Name
- Watts v Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
- Date
- [2002]
- Citation
- EWHC 993 (Admin)
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Planning control
- Summary
-
Watts obtained planning permission for side and rear extensions. At the same time as implementing this planning permission he undertook a roof extension under Class B. The combined enlargement of both the planning permission and the extension under Class B would go beyond the permitted limit on cubic content, so the local authority served an enforcement notice in respect of the roof extension. Watts contended that, as the roof extension had been 'substantially completed' before the bulk of the works permitted by the specific grant of permission had been done, it was permitted development. The inspector treated the combined works as one operation thereby breaching the cubic content limits.
The court rejected this approach. It is a matter of the sequence of the works. It is a question of fact and degree whether the other works have reached a stage where they have a cubic content so as to be capable of being part of a 'resulting building' (in the words of the GPDO).