Council failure to notify

[markwatles]

Does anyone know if we can complain and/or complain about planning permission granted on a shop we occupy as tenants. We were only aware of the planning being granted after the event when we stumbled on it on the councils website. Surely we should have been advised?

[Poppy]

What do you have an objection to? Does the terms of your tenancy agreement come within the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (which aims to provide security of tenure)?

[pdk]

You should have been advised as an owner if you have an interest of more than 7 years in the property... you should also have been consulted as a neighbour...

You might have grounds for an ombudsman complaint..but that might be all that you can do... Why not speak to the Council...??

You have probably fallen outside the time limit to challenge a planning app (3 months) but that would be very expensive...

Councils have the ability to cancel a planning permission but they are open to compensation so prob would not do that...

Hope that helps!!

PETER


NOTE: Peter Kyte BSC (Hons) DipTP MRTPI CGeog is an official LandlordZONE Topic Expert… For more information on Peter D Kyte Associates and Enabling Projects please see the websites at http://www.enablinguk.com and http://www.development-seekers.com. Any advice given by Peter Kyte in this Forum is of a general nature only and should not be taken to be a final and binding planning opinion. Based on any initial advice given you are strongly advised to seek a further professional opinion, which may involve a site visit and a detailed analysis of the issues... For information on the sort of work Peter undertakes please see TRACK RECORD (http://www.enablinguk.com/track.html), WORKING WITH INVESTORS (http://www.enablinguk.com/ur-property-investors-planning.html), and PROJECT TYPES (http://www.enablinguk.com/planning-project-permission-appeal-UK.html)...

[markwatles]

Thanks for your replies. I think you will find the answers to any questions posted in the commercial section under 'Section 25 notice received' (posted by myself yesterday). The fact that we were not advised by the LL of the planning application will then become clear (ulterior motives?).

I have had some contact regarding the councils failure to notify & received a email back stating 'I would expect an owner of a property to inform tenants if a planning application was to be submitted. If we as a planning department are aware that there are tenants in a building then we would ordinarily notify them. However, this may not always be apparent to us.'

I have since responded asking again why we had not received notice and had no reply (waiting two weeks). In the meantime I have in fact obtained the notices sent to neighbouring premises. Information we were unaware of.
Regards.

[pdk]

Keep chasing the council for the response you need!! PETER

[markwatles]

I have finally received an answer from the local authority regarding the planning permission granted on the property we rent. The gist of this appears to be that the LL applied for planning, and we as tenants (as far as the council are concerned) are also the applicants. As we were totally unaware of these goings on it seems the council are trying to avoid responsibilty in notifying ourselves and I am still extremely unhappy with what as taken place.

Would a complaint to the ombudsman achieve anything?

Below is the councils reply.

"The applicant, (The landlord) indicated on the application forms that he
owned the property and that the existing office accommodation on the
first floor was ancillary to the retail uses on the ground floor. On
this basis, we would have assumed that there were no separate businesses
on the first floor and that all people within the application premises
were aware of the proposal. (As to us, they were the applicants). We
would then only look to notify people in adjoining or nearby properties
that may be affected by the proposed development.

On this basis I consider that the Council has acted in accordance with
its normal procedures and has not failed in its duties to inform
neighbouring occupiers of a planning proposal.

The key issue would seem to me to be that of the lease between
yourselves and the landlord. On that basis if you feel that your
landlord has behaved inappropriately, or in contravention of the
existing agreement between you, then I would suggest that you seek legal
advice.

I trust this explains matters from the Local Planning Authority's point
of view, and apologise for the delay in getting back to you."

To clarify the situation the ground floor is divided into two retail premises, one we occupy the other being vacant. They are entirely seperate entities with seperate doorways and different business rate rating entries. The LL has obtained permission to combine the two units (ours & the empty one). Surely as neighbours to the other ground floor unit we should have been notified of this development?

[jeffrey]

You have a tenancy. Nothing in it is really affected by the TCPA permission, is it? If L wants to combine two units (inc. yours) into one, that work would obviously interfere with your tenancy- but the permission alone does not.

[pdk]

Don't forget that the PP only becomes lawful once it is implemented... its only a bit of paper until then!!!

Seek legal advice... if the freeholder got a consent without properly notifying you and without possibly serving a notice on you (do you have a 7 yr+ lease?) and is then forcing you out on the basis of the PP, you might have some sort of legal address...

Otherwise, as long as he cant force you out, does it make any difference if the PP is there??

PETER

NOTE: Peter Kyte BSC (Hons) DipTP MRTPI CGeog is an official LandlordZONE Topic Expert… For more information on Peter D Kyte Associates and Enabling Projects please see the websites at http://www.enablinguk.com and http://www.development-seekers.com. Any advice given by Peter Kyte in this Forum is of a general nature only and should not be taken to be a final and binding planning opinion. Based on any initial advice given you are strongly advised to seek a further professional opinion, which may involve a site visit and a detailed analysis of the issues... For information on the sort of work Peter undertakes please see TRACK RECORD (http://www.enablinguk.com/track.html), WORKING WITH INVESTORS (http://www.enablinguk.com/ur-property-investors-planning.html), and PROJECT TYPES (http://www.enablinguk.com/planning-project-permission-appeal-UK.html)...