Can immunity from planning enforcement action be obtained by deceit?

In Welwyn Hatfield Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another [2010] EWCA Civ 26, the Court of Appeal allowed a landowner's appeal and held that the landowner was entitled to a certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development (CLEUD).

Having obtained planning permission for a hay barn, a landowner constructed a building that externally looked like a barn but which was internally fitted out as a dwelling house. The landowner and his wife lived in the building for four years before applying for a CLEUD.

The landowner confirmed in his evidence to the planning inspector that he had deliberately deceived the council when applying for planning permission. He had always intended to use the building as a dwelling house.

The development had acquired immunity from planning enforcement action under sections 171B(1) and (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) as:

• The planning permission was for the erection of a hay barn, but what was actually built was a dwelling house. The construction of the building had not been carried out in accordance with the planning permission, but it was now too late for the council to take enforcement action.
• The permitted use of the building was as a hay barn. Use of the building as a single dwelling house was a change of use in breach of planning permission. Again, it was too late for the council to take enforcement action.

The Court of Appeal stated that the lesson to be learnt by local planning authorities is to look carefully at the inside of buildings, not just at the exterior, when determining whether a building has been constructed and used in accordance with planning permission.

Data Protection – All Change

Personal data about all of us is held by employers, companies and others. The Data Protection Act 1998 provides protection for that data. In 2010 it was announced that penalties for breach of the legislation may rise to £500,000 and the registration fee has already risen this year for bigger companies from £35 a year to £500. Businesses are being advised to ensure they are up to date with all their data protection issues? With the big new penalties coming up it may be worth businesses having a data protection check.

Peter Lawson a partner at Chattertons Solicitors says

“We can look at your practices, advise your HR and marketing departments and check the privacy policy on your web site for compliance with the law.

Also if you export data outside the EU you need to consider the special rules which apply. In February 2010 the EU issued new model clauses for data processors which replace an earlier version. They apply and can be used where a company exports “personal data” about living individuals outside the EU and want to do so within the law and in compliance in the UK with the Data Protection Act 1998 and throughout the rest of the EU the national legislation which implemented the EU data protection directive. Contracts entered into from 15th May 2010 should include these clauses.

For further information please contact Peter Lawson on 01205 310025.

Non-Domestic Unoccupied Property Rating Regulations

The Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (2010 regulations) will come in to force on 1 April 2010. The 2010 regulations provide that for the year 2010/11, empty commercial properties with rateable values of up to £18,000 will be exempt from business rates.

This follows the Government's announcement in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report that the temporary increase in the threshold for empty property relief would be extended for a further year.

The 2010 regulations provide that the threshold will reduce to £2,600 for financial years beginning on and after 1 April 2011.

Commercial team appoints new Solicitor

Stephen Fielding has recently joined Chattertons, The Lincolnshire Solicitors, at the firms Lincoln office on Doddington Road. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1998 and has an extensive wealth of experience and knowledge in Commercial Property.

Stephen advises on all aspects of commercial property work but with a particular emphasis on development, acting on behalf of residential and commercial developers and the public sector in a number of high profile, high value transactions.

Prior to joining Chattertons Solicitors, Stephen was a partner with a leading commercial practice based in Leeds.

If you would like to speak to Stephen, please call 01522 814600

New Intestacy Rules

 

From 1 February 2010 new intestacy rules apply. “Intestacy” means who inherits if you leave no will. The law decides. In most cases it is better to make a will. It is rarely sensible to write your own will as the rules are complex. Two witnesses must sign in the presence of the person making the will at the same time, and there are other legal complications. Get it wrong and the will is invalid.

Libby Nicholson head of the Private Client department says

“If there is no will but a spouse (or civil partner) and children are left, the spouse now keeps all the assets up to £250,000 (up from £125,000) and in addition own all the personal chattels (possessions) whatever their value. Over £250,000, half of the remaining assets go on trust for the surviving spouse and the children receive the other half. Therefore someone dying leaving a house worth £1m and no other assets, for example, would find that their spouse has to sell the house to give the children half of £750,000 immediately. If they make a will they do not have to do this. On death of the surviving spouse in such a case, the half on trust goes to the children.

If someone dies intestate and there are no children but there are siblings of the deceased, then the spouse receives chattels - £450,000 (up from £250,000 under the previous law) and half the remaining assets immediately go to the siblings with the balance on trust for them after the spouse’s death.

Now might be a good time for you to make or update your will. In addition, if you live with a partner and are not married nor in a “civil partnership” with them, they have no rights to inherit although they may be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance, Provision for Family and Dependents Act if you were supporting them. If you wish a partner to inherit, it is simpler to make a will which sets out your wishes expressly. It may also be wise to have a written agreement about how any properties you jointly own will be handled if the relationship breaks down. This is also wise for those buying a property together who are not also in a relationship. Call Libby on 01205 351114.

Are you planning on holding a Race night, Casino night or Poker night for charity?

The Gambling Commission has issued further guidance on holding race nights, casino nights and poker nights.  Anyone organising any such event should read the guidance leaflet which can be accessed by clicking here and if in doubt speak to a legal advisor.  Debbie Hough from our Horncastle office will be able to help you with any queries. You can contact Debbie on 01507 522456 or email debbie.hough@chattertons.com

BUY IN HASTE REPENT AT LEISURE!

Have you recently tried to overcome the recession blues by going on a January Sales spending spree? Have you now discovered that the items that you have bought do not fit, or you have changed your mind about them or they have broken?

Do you want to know if there is anything you can do to get your money back?

The good news is that you can do something about most situations.

FAULTY GOODS

The first and foremost thins is if the item is faulty, in other words it does not work as it was supposed to, or it does not fit its description, or it is not fit for its purpose. These rights are governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended. Even if the item was reduced in the “Sale” it still has to comply with this legislation no matter what the seller says. The only way that the seller can get away with selling you an item that is marked or damaged is if they specifically draw your attention to the problem. So, by stating for instance that “this item has a damaged zip and is therefore reduced in price”, would mean that you could not return the item because of the faulty zip. You could still return it if the item fell to pieces as this was nothing to do with the zip.

If items do not fit because they are incorrectly marked you are protected by the above legislation as the goods will not fit their description. So for example if you bought a dress marked as size 12 and it did not fit because it was actually a size 16 this would be a breach of the legislation. If a settee was described as 246cm wide and when it was delivered it was 346cm wide you would have a valid claim under the legislation.

What happens if someone else bought the item for you and it is faulty? If you give the gift back to the person who bought it for you they can take it back to the seller. Or you can return the item yourself provided the person who bought it told the seller that it was a gift for another party and had this information written onto the receipt. The protection given to the receiver of a gift is that governed by the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. This gives the receiver of the gift the right to return the goods to the seller.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

If you do not like the item when you get it home or it is the wrong colour then you cannot take the item back and get a refund under the above legislation. You can return to the seller and advise them of your change of mind the seller may give you a refund at their discretion. A number of large department stores operate this policy.

If in any doubt about any of the above circumstances you should seek further advice, please contact Sara Checkley at Chattertons Solicitors on 01507 522456.