Planning Appeal in Westminster

A decision against residential conversion is overturned after our Planning team gets involved.

Challenge

In September 2016, a London-based property investment company contacted us following the acquisition of a redundant police station in Westminster and the dismissal of an appeal to convert its community space to residential.

Inspiration

We advised the client that the appeal inspector had applied the relevant policy tests incorrectly, and as a result had come to a decision based on faulty reasoning. We indicated that the way forward would be to submit a section 288 High Court action to challenge the decision and set out the policy errors.

Result

Following the submission of a section 288 High Court action, the Planning Inspectorate and Westminster Council consented to judgment, allowing the appeal to be determined afresh, in our client’s favour. The client was delighted with our advice and our thinking outside the box, which other professional advisers had shied away from.