Can Planning Regulations apply retrospectively ?

[Brian Lacey]

I have applied for planning permission to attach a carport to the gable end of our bungalow. The other support for the roof will be two wooden posts sitting on a wide, rebuilt flat-topped stone wall.
The parking space was created in 2004 when a bedroom extension was built by previous owners and left a nice space just suitable for parking the car, which is what I have done since we move here in 2015. Area is block paved for this purpose.
The area tapers as you drive in, the front is 3.75m wide tapering to 2.95. The gable end gives a length of 4.6m. The stone wall is our boundary wall and then a garden/planted verge edged in stone and footpath. The village is rural and only 35 houses, to describe footfall as light would be an exaggeration.

A consultee comment is ...

"Head Of Transport, Highways And Infrastructure

Comment Date: Mon 09 May 2022
The applicant is required to provide the correctly dimensioned garages/carports; carports will need to have an internal measurement of 3.3 metres x 6 metres, in line with the detail contained within the NNC Adopted Parking Standards. Where a garage is intended to serve two vehicles the internal dimensions for the width need to be increased to 5.8 metres.
o The front face of the car port shall be retained at all times clear of any door, barrier, bar, gate or other such means of enclosure."

This NNC document is dated 2016 and the Residential element appears to refer to new build developments/community parking etc.
As a bungalow wall and boundary wall are somewhat fixed it is impossible to make the site larger, a car does fit.
I get the feeling that the reply is almost an automated one and my application has not actually been read but what influence will the response have with the deciding Planning Officer ? Is it grounds for refusal as the site is too small by current regulations but was established before they came into effect ?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Brian.

 

[blup]

It's the car port that's new so has to comply with current standards, unless you can show an exception can be made which is unlikely as the narrowest point is significantly less than the standard.

Blup

 

[Brian Lacey]

Thanks for the reply.
The parking space is not new, only the roof over it is new. So does the roof have to meet the new standards even though the parking space does not ?

 

[blup]

You need to contact the case officer by email and provide the dimensions, accepting that they do not meet the standard but explaining that this is not a "new" space but an existing one that is being covered over. The highways officer might argue that access by foot is compromised by the posts but that does not seem credible from the plans.

The officers ought to update the committee and change the recommendation to approval, or at least defer consideration of the item.

Try and be there if you can and take notes in case you have to appeal. Some council's operate a right to speak scheme but it is often objector lead, and you may have to give more notice than 24 hours. The council's website should give details.

Blup

 

[^woody^]

It's a long post and a short evening. So I don't know the actual question.

FWIW, a carport is the structure, not the space, nor the surface that the car its parked on just the things that enclose the area, and there are requirements for a carport which are distinct from the car space.

I don't know if any of the above is relevant.