We’ve written about the wrongs of permitted development. Without going into too much detail now, take a look at this example of how developers play the system and try to slow down local authorities that are already under resourced.
It’s another example that leaves one scratching one’s head. This industrial estate site in Stamford Hill, N15, has had a permitted development application for change of use from storage to residential. As the site sits directly in the middle of the industrial estate, street view is unable to show us what the building currently looks like, but here it is from above.
And this will be your entrance to the development, with the actual building a hundred yards or so round the corner.
So far three applications have come in for the site. The first came back in September last year for seven units, which was refused owing to insufficient information being submitted by the applicant. Undeterred, the developer submitted another, again for seven units, a few months later, which was granted consent.
Being a bit braver, the developer submitted another for 10 units within the same space. But this one was refused, again because of a lack of information. And now just last week another has come forward, this time for 15 homes.
As stated, the use of the double height space is currently storage. A mezzanine level will be created for 15 homes on the upper floor, leaving the ground floor to continue as storage space. With the precedent already set and planning in place for the seven-unit scheme, it’s hard to see how the 15 unit scheme (if it contains all the relevant information) won’t be granted too.
Homes on the scheme look to be, shall we say, on the small side with a sofa doubled up as a bed. All of them are, of course, studios.
