In Bonsall v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Jackson v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2015] EWCA Civ 1246; [2015] PLSCS 350, the Court of Appeal ruled that Mr Bonsall can no longer continue to use a barn as his home after secretly converting it.
He must now return the barn to its original use after the court found that he had purposefully deceived Rotherham metropolitan borough council and the barn’s neighbours into believing the barn at land on Common Lane at Thorpe Salvin, near Rotherham, was just what it looked like for four years, in order to then rely on immunity from planning enforcement. He secretly converted the unit into a home with three bedrooms and four bathrooms, though there were no windows and it was concealed by woodland, hedges and gates.
The court’s decision took into account the fact that Mr Bonsall had knowingly breached regulations, which meant that his right to immunity from planning controls was a key issue. Richards LJ dismissed the appeal and stated that he was satisfied deliberate concealment had taken place, which means that the property will have to be converted back to its former status and cannot be used as a residential dwelling.
In the joined case, Mr Jackson was ordered by Winchester city council to return the barn at Sutton Scotney to its original state after the council found out he had converted the first floor of it without their permission in order to provide a home for his son.
The decisions were based on a Supreme Court ruling that in cases of “deliberate concealment” the four year rule does not apply. In Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2011] UKSC 15, the Supreme Court held that the time limits laid down in section 171B of the Town and Country Planning Act for enforcement action in respect of breaches of planning control did not apply in a case of positive deception designed to avoid enforcement action within those time limits.
The ruling serves as a reminder to anyone seeking to build or convert a property that they must first obtain full planning permission before any construction, development, or change of use takes place.
Martha Grekos is a partner and London head of planning and infrastructure at Irwin Mitchell
