Cases - Wood v Secretary of State for the Environment

Record details

Name

Wood v Secretary of State for the Environment

Date

[1973]

Citation

2 AII ER 404

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

A conservatory attached to a farmhouse came to be used mainly for the sale of produce. It was alleged that the sale of imported produce had become so extensive as to amount to a material change of use. (The sale of homegrown produce was held to be ancillary.)

On appeal, the inspector considered that the increase in imported sales was not sufficient to be a material change in the use of the land. The Secretary of State, however, regarded the conservatory as a separate planning unit. He therefore came to the conclusion that there was a material change of use.

The Divisional Court held that this approach was an error of law. Referring to Mr Justice Bridge's starting point, Lord Widgery CJ said that it can rarely if ever be right to dissect a single dwellinghouse and to regard one room in isolation as being an appropriate planning unit.