The owner of a block of flats who paved over its garden to create a bigger driveway has been ordered to put the grass back.
WP Properties, owned by builder William Packham, knocked down part of the front wall of the block at 5-7 Stanford Avenue in 2019 or 2020 without planning permission.
It also put up a bin store and paved over a grassed area to create more parking spaces.
Planning officers wrote to Mr Packham in December 2020 to tell him he needed permission to keep these changes.
He applied in 2021 for permission for the changes he had made, but was refused – and then in 2022 for a slightly different scheme which would put back the wall and some grass, but keep most of the parking and the bin store.
This was also refused, and Brighton and Hove City Council has now issued an enforcement notice requiring him to put everything back as it was.
In the 2022 planning application, planning agent Julia Mitchell from Lewis and Co, wrote: “Planning permission was granted in 1998 for the conversion of 5 and 7 Stanford Avenue into flats.
“Since this time the applicant has made various changes to the hardcourt to the front of the property to facilitate parking for residents.
“The revised parking arrangement will allow for the reinstatement of the boundary walls and railings, which the council consider to be important features in this part of the conservation area.
“Therefore the revised parking arrangement facilitates this visual improvement which will enhance the Preston Park Conservation Area.
“The amenity of residents will be protected by the development. There will continue to be some parking provision as well as grassed areas to the front of the buildings.”
The scheme drew two objections, one from a member of the public who said that the layout meant cars had to reverse out on to the busy road which was dangerous.
The other was from a resident of the flats who, at that time, was using one of the parking spaces which would have been removed under the revised scheme and who wanted it to remain as it now is.
He said: “This will have a significant impact on my daily routine/work schedule. In all facets of my work the use/accessibility of my car is crucial.
“On a daily basis I am required to transport large amounts of heavy equipment and materials. I often leave in the early hours/return in the middle of the night.”
However, in his report, planning officer Jack Summers wrote: “The concerns over the loss of the existing parking are noted. However, the current layout is unauthorised and the parking space referenced cannot be given any significant weight in the planning balance.
“The existing layout has been refused planning permission under application BH2021/01375 and the private benefit to residents is noted but was not considered significant enough to warrant permission being granted for the scheme
“The proposed replacement of lawned areas with hardstanding for parking vehicles, and erection of an overlarge bin store in front of no 5, is considered to have a detrimental impact on the visual amenities of the area.
“The hardstanding appears as a hard, sterile expanse, reducing the biodiversity value of the site and the green character of Stanford Avenue, while the bin store is an incongruous addition in terms of scale, siting and materiality.
“The proposed layout also fails to provide car parking spaces that can be demonstrably usable. No swept path analysis has been submitted to show whether a car could comfortably manoeuvre in and out of the site.
“It is considered very likely that cars would be unable to enter and exit the site in a forward gear. This, coupled with inadequate visibility splays (due to the boundary wall) would lead to what is considered to be unacceptably hazardous highway conditions for motorists and pedestrians on the footway.”
Good for the council. If the required work isn’t done in a timely manner – within, say, 3 months – the individual who thought he was above the (planning) laws should then be fined, say £50 per day, until he does what he has been instructed to do.
It’s time to get tough with these people who think they can simply bypass the rules and get away with it.
To be honest I am sick to death with these planning rules, (A) most hard working people need to park their cars close to their home expecially if they have heavy equipment for working and indeed for their food shopping etc,
And (B) Where else can you put your Bins as Brighton is a nightmare for rubbish,
Brighton Council need to sort there acute rubbish problems and untreated weeds, not to mention the state of some of the paving,
I blame the Green Party for this stupidity.
This should be easy decision have other people in the road, change the front of their gardens to parking if so then it should looked at with
that in mind
Not a back door to get rid of cars
Resident does work that requires planning permission, but does not seek that permission.
Alan: “I blame the Greens”.
There is stupidity here alright.
Baaa humbug… 🤔
Similar thing with a local pub. Doubled overall seating whilst reducing carparking then extended outside seating to the edge of the lane with no permission.
Locals had to point it out to the useless council.
They said planning refused but now he will appeal.goes on forever.
I do like hearing about karmic stories like this one. Especially when it’s around planning permission. If you don’t have permission, don’t do it, ha!
Too many once beautiful front gardens/areas are turned into barren and sterile areas in favour of parking
Developers across the country decimate any living thing in both front and back gardens on purchase of a property
No regard is given to what is a visual impact on these old buildings in which a tranquil view is far more important
Good for Brighton and Hove for demanding this is reinstating this to how it should be, before the visual impact is lost not only for this property, but for many others in the area by those who think they can get away with it
Nothing to do with BHCC’s agenda to screw money from parking?
The Parking department at the
council needs to start doing the will of residents and not pushing its own agenda
I think the council are just miffed because they’re losing out on potential parking permit income !
Doubt it, it’s double yellows up both sides of that road.
Its sad that front gardens are turning into parking spots but to be honest, I cant blame anyone. Parking permits cost around £600 per year, actual parking fees are a joke, so if you own some property and want to turn part of that into a parking space, so be it
Just get permission first.
£600 is for a trader parking permit, which allows you to park in any zone around the city for your work. Resident permits are much less, starting at £100 per year, and increasing for high-demand areas and high-emission vehicles. Note that properties with off-street parking are not eligible for resident permits.
If I work hard to buy a property, it’s my property,not the council not the neibours, it’s mine,why do any council moron’s or do goody follow the rules imposed by idiot’s get to decide what’s happening with my property,we had enough of being dictated by another country when stuck in EU, amazingly this is still happening and it continues through local authorities, time to tell these council to bog off,they don’t own everything,and the things they do believe they own they should start maintaining them and not there personal bank balance.
Well said!!!!! Talk about the nanny state.
Darn right, Darran! We don’t need any rules, it’s our property – forever! Who cares if we remove a supporting wall without sufficient lintel? Or install an electrical consumer unit ourselves? Or build an extension that overlooks our neighbours and removes their light? We should get to do whatever we want, it’s our property.
“Moron’s” and “idiot’s” doesn’t need the apostrophe, by the way. There’s no need for the plural in your comment, there’s only one.
Don’t be so stupid. There’s a difference between concreting over some grass and unsafe buildings.
And it’s a bit sad to be commenting on someone’s grammar on a forum like this. Get a life.
Glad the councillors therefore see that running cables across tge pavenent to charge your e-car has to be tge acceptable alternative. Plus the homeowner wouldn’t be able to install a home charging point as you can’t run a long cable from them. How intelligent, but so typical.
As much as we all hate being told what we can and what we cannot do, rules, laws regulations etc, planning regulations are there to bring order where chaos reigns. We are an overcrowded island, particularly the south east, without planning regs, it would be total chaos and disorder. Don’t forget green gardens are soakaways for the heavy rain and potential flooding that we will all potentially may suffer with the threat of climate change. Unfortunately we must have planning regs to protect the environment and protect us from ourselves.