Appeals round-up: ‘Garish’ ice cream kiosk caused ‘significant harm’; Commercial business training centre is a community facility

‘Garish’ ice cream kiosk caused ‘significant harm’

A shipping container in Mablethorpe in use as an ice cream kiosk had caused ‘significant harm’ to the ‘pleasant character’ of the car park it was sited in, an inspector has ruled, citing the kiosk’s ‘garish’ pink-and-blue colouring.

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Commercial business training centre is a community facility

A for-profit business training centre in East London with an international student body cannot be converted into an HMO, an inspector has ruled, because it constitutes a 'community facility’.

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HMO landing area would provide ‘adequate flood refuge’

An inspector has allowed the conversion of a riverside Newport home into an HMO, dismissing concerns that the ground-floor occupant would not be able to seek refuge upstairs during a flood event if the other bedrooms were locked.

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Heybridge urban extension approved despite flooding fears

An inspector has approved a ‘garden suburb’ of more than 1,100 homes north of Heybridge, Essex, calling the appellant’s plans for flood prevention and surface water drainage ‘a perfectly normal arrangement’.

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Historic garden restoration plans justify green belt home

Plans for a ‘unique’ home in the grounds of a listed manor house would include restoration works to its historic gardens that would bring a ‘significant’ public benefit and would amount to ‘very special circumstances’, an inspector has ruled.

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New windows and balconies have ‘significantly harmed’ Victorian hotel

The owner of a hotel in Devon who replaced its historic windows and ‘intricate’ iron balustrades with ‘synthetic’ modern substitutes caused ‘significant harm’ to its ‘Victorian authenticity’, an inspector has ruled in upholding an enforcement notice.

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Houseboat is not a dwellinghouse, rules inspector

A boat owner’'s quayside summerhouse and carport are not covered by permitted development rights as ‘outbuildings’, an inspector has ruled, because houseboats can be easily moved and are therefore not buildings for planning purposes.

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