A man who had hoped to finance the redevelopment of stables in the grounds of a Victorian mansion by subdividing the land and selling off the mansion has failed to obtain the High Court’s backing for the scheme.
Christopher Ranson, who owns Green Lodge, The Severals, Fordham Road, which was built in 1855 and which has been empty for 30 years, sought planning permission to split the site into two planning units, so that he could sell the mansion to pay for the high-quality redevelopment of the stables into a racehorse training yard.
He claimed that several trainers had shown an interest in taking a lease of the proposed training yard, but that as long as planners insisted that the stables remain part and parcel of the run-down mansion, no one would be interested in the site.
However, both Forest Heath District Council and a planning inspector refused permission for the scheme. They refused to amend a condition attached to the planning permission for the development of the stables that had been granted to Ranson in 1999. That condition insists that the site remain one planning unit, in order to “safeguard the facilities and accommodation of the racehorse training ground”.
The inspector found that the proposed change to the condition would result in the loss of residential accommodation used in connection with training racehorses, which was contrary to the local policy.
Ranson asked the High Court to quash the decision, arguing that the house had been empty since 1973, that the stables had not been used to house racehorses for 10 years, and that there was no market for a small-scale training yard attached to a large, dilapidated mansion.
He claimed that the only way he could finance the completion of the restoration project on the stables would be to sell the mansion to a separate buyer, and argued that the condition imposed on his planning permission was his sole obstacle to doing so.
However, Ouseley J upheld the inspector’s decision. The judge said that the inspector had been entitled to reach his conclusion, and had adequately explained his reasons.
References: EGi Legal News 01/12/03
