Brian Barber Associates has been successful in defending a decision by St Albans City and District Council relating to proposals for a replacement dwelling in the Hertfordshire Green Belt.  The case related to a site which had a long planning history where the principle of replacing original properties within a farmstead has been accepted.  The issue was that the appellant had, on a number of occasions, sought to increase the size of the principal new dwelling.  The key issue, therefore, in respect of the appeal was how far it was reasonable to increase the size of the new dwelling over and above those which originally stood on the site.

The Inspector agreed with the arguments which were put forward by BBA on behalf of the Council in that when assessing the appropriate size of a replacement house, the key is the size of the original property and not those for which planning permission had already been granted.  The appellant had sought to argue that the size of the last approval was the correct starting point.  The Inspector, however, agreed that the appellant’s position would, if correct, simply enable the size of a replacement property in the Green Belt to continue to grow unchecked.  This would clearly undermine the thrust of Government policy on Green Belts and would allow abuse of the system.

The Inspector’s decision has, therefore, provided an important clarification of national planning policy for developments within Green Belts.

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