Scenario Walkthroughs
Narrative case studies showing the full application pack for a specific project.
Latest in Scenario Walkthroughs
166 articlesBat roost found during a bungalow loft conversion
An illustrative walkthrough of a bungalow loft conversion where a bat roost was confirmed, showing how the May to September survey season and the licensing route reshaped the programme.
Rooftop extension on a block of flats under Part 20
An illustrative Part 20 Class A scheme adding eight flats to a 1968 block. The three things that nearly stopped it were daylight to the facing block, the lift overrun and the airspace lease.
A 60 unit site crossing the transport assessment threshold
At 48 units the scheme needed a Transport Statement. At 60 it needed a full Transport Assessment, junction modelling and a monitored travel plan. An illustrative walkthrough of what changed.
Micro-brewery and taproom in a light industrial unit
An illustrative walkthrough of a 450 square metre brewery with a taproom. Brewing may stay within light industrial use, but a drinking establishment is sui generis, and that is where the application turns.
Change of use of a pub to a house
Pub conversions always need permission and usually fail on the marketing price rather than the period. An illustrative village free house through marketing, viability and a committee decision.
Stables and a manege on a smallholding
Equestrian use sits outside the statutory definition of agriculture, so agricultural permitted development does not apply. An illustrative walkthrough of stables and an arena on a five hectare holding.
Dormer bungalow to two storeys under Class AA
An illustrative walkthrough of an upward extension to a 1960s dormer bungalow under Class AA, from the build date gateway to the daylight study that settled the neighbour's objection.
Nursery in a vacant retail unit: an illustrative walkthrough
A former shop became a 64 place nursery with no permission needed for the use. The play space, the drop-off regime and the kitchen extract needed the work.
Solar farm on grade 3b land: an illustrative walkthrough
Grade 3b is not best and most versatile land, and provisional mapping cannot establish it. A detailed classification survey shaped every other part of this scheme.
A listed barn repair and conversion in sequence
A Grade II threshing barn needing listed building consent and planning permission. The bats set the programme, and the specification decided the heritage case.
Farm diversification: an illustrative glamping site application
Six safari tents on a mixed farm, and the three things that decided the application: the temporary use right, the drainage field and the lane. An illustrative walkthrough.
Shop to dental practice within Class E: what needed permission
Moving from retail to a dental surgery stays inside Class E, so the use change needed no permission. The plant, shopfront and signage did. An illustrative walkthrough.
Loft conversion on a terrace with a party wall
Three consent regimes ran on different clocks, and the party wall award rather than the planning permission set the start date. An illustrative walkthrough.
A 12 unit scheme crossing the major development line
An illustrative walkthrough of a 12 dwelling scheme, showing what changes once the ten unit major threshold and the affordable housing policy threshold are crossed.
Five dwellings on a brownfield infill plot
Below ten units nothing is major, so the exercise is proportionality. This illustrative walkthrough shows which parts of the evidence base a five dwelling scheme actually needed.
Rear extension on a 1930s semi in a conservation area
An illustrative walkthrough of a single storey rear extension in a conservation area, including the article 4 direction that actually removed the permitted development right.
Walkthrough: a boundary wall taken down in a conservation area
An illustrative walkthrough of a Victorian rubble boundary wall demolished without permission in a conservation area, the enforcement response and the specification that secured retrospective consent.
Walkthrough: a shopfront reinstated on a listed building
An illustrative walkthrough of reinstating a historic shopfront on a Grade II listed building, from paint sections and archive photographs to advertisement consent and the accessibility compromise.
A mobile home on a garden plot: a walkthrough
The site licence exemption for a caravan in a garden is about licensing, not planning. Relying on it as a planning answer is the most common mistake in this area.
An air conditioning unit and a neighbour complaint
A unit can be lawful in planning terms and still be abated as a statutory nuisance, and it can need permission while making almost no noise at all.
A holiday let refused on a C3 dwelling: a walkthrough
Nothing physical changed. No extension, no new door, no sign. The entire case turned on the pattern of occupation and the listing's own dated review history.
A scheme that failed on biodiversity net gain
A net gain failure rarely happens at application stage. It happens when the biodiversity gain plan goes in for approval, the authority says no, and the site cannot lawfully start.
A veterinary practice with overnight care: a walkthrough
The building use was already acceptable. The 24 hour operation, with barking at 3am and a condenser running against a party boundary, is what the application had to justify.
Walkthrough: a beer garden extension and noise conditions
Pub garden extensions are rarely refused on the garden. They are conditioned on the noise of people talking in it after dark, and the layout does more than the fence.
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