Decking at a block of flats

[Penelopejean]

Hello there,
I asked in a previous post about removal of decking at a block of flats. I asked if planning permission would be needed if it were removed completely then replaced and it appears it does.

Someone in the post replied that the council would be unlikely to refuse it when permission is applied for!

It was illegally installed but no-one realised that planning perm. was required so didn't complain to the council (but to everyone else) and it eventually fell outside the 4 year enforcement rule unfortunately.
All the neighbours hate it and would complain when the planning application is made. It is an eye sore and dangerous as it is. It is causing damp in an adjacent flat with no damp membrane fitted, and is why it is being removed. It is in a conservation area!
Can the council really approve of it as it is designed? I find it hard to believe the council would allow it under these conditions.
Please advise anyone............. or I will be losing faith in the planning system.
Thanks
Penny

 

[LukeB123]

Please advise anyone............. or I will be losing faith in the planning system.

Nice to see you have some faith!

When the previous poster advised that planning would probably approve it - they are taking a general view. If something has been up there for 4+ years without a single objection (to the council) then as applicant or planning agent you could make a decent case for it. I mean you say all the neighbours hate it and it's an eyesore and yet probably dozens of people walk past it a couple of times a day for 1500 days+ and no-one raises an objection to the local authority?

I am not saying it isn't an eyesore, but that's just the general jist of why a planner would have an easy time approving something that may be a bit on balance.

To answer the question "can the council approve it" .. yes they can if they want.

They will look at the design, any other precedents or similar things in the area and if it causes any harm. This is up to the officer, and any objectors to raise these points.

 

[Nakajo]

I can't see that there's much choice here. I think the assertion that the owner has to apply for permission is technically correct, so whether or not the replacement decking is permissible is in the hands of the planners. There are examples of such applications being unsuccessful and failing on appeal, but I think a good case can be made where evidence is provided of decking being extant for 4+ years with complaint to Local Authority enforcement.