space standards

An inspector has granted retrospective permission for the conversion of a former warehouse in north London into studio flats after a long-running dispute, ordering the council to pay partial costs.

Plans to convert a bathroom in a 13-bedroom HMO into a 14th bedroom have been rejected by an inspector, who cited the room’s small floor space, ‘awkward’ window and partially sloped ceiling.

An inspector has rejected claims that a ‘very small’ basement flat would ‘provide accommodation to people who could not otherwise afford housing’, saying that the planning system must ‘provide an appropriate...