Chattertons Solicitors receive ‘Investors in Education’ Award

Chattertons Solicitors are pleased to have been presented with the ‘Investors in Education’ Award 2010. The firm received the award for successfully demonstrating commitment to working in partnership with Lincolnshire and Rutland schools and providing work experience opportunities for local students.

The evening was hosted by the Lincolnshire & Rutland Enterprise Business Partnership and opened by Elaine Lilly, Chief Executive of the Lincolnshire & Rutland Enterprise Business Partnership.

Jayne Harrison, Partner, received the award on behalf of the staff at the Grantham office. The award was presented by the Assistant Director of Children’s Services of Lincolnshire County Council.

The firm was nominated by Kings School in Grantham for excellence in work experience provision at Chattertons’ Grantham office. Each School in Rutland and Lincolnshire who send students out on work experience are asked each year to nominate one business. The Kings School in Grantham sends students out to about 90 businesses.

Jayne Harrison says ‘We are delighted and honoured to have received such an award. It was a real team effort here at Grantham when we had our work experience students so it is credit to the whole office’.

Chattertons Solicitors are ‘Investors in People’ and have ten offices across the region.

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.