November 2025

Matt has successfully secured planning permission for the subdivision of an existing property to create a new residential dwelling. Permission was achieved following an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The appeal was made against the decision of Chichester District Council to refuse permission for the subdivision on grounds relating to the sustainability of location. The Council's position on the matter being that the positively worded policy relating to the change of use of buildings outside of settlements was not applicable in this instance, as in their opinion the subdivision itself was not a material change of use.

Working alongside a Barrister (Ben Du Feu of Cornerstones), Matt was able to duly articulate to the appointed Inspector that if due regard is given to the Town and Country Planning Act that the subdivision very much was a material change of use to which the policy applied. The Inspector agreed with this position and whilst they found some conflicts with the development plan allowed the appeal giving significant weight to the benefit of new housing. This was despite Chichester having very recently adopted a new local plan.

D&M Planning work across a range of different Local Planning Authorities and have experience in the various nuances of the individual development plans. As a company we prepare applications and defend them all the way through to the conclusion of appeals and beyond. If you have a development proposal you would like to speak to our team about please do not hesitate to contact us.