Lorne Cottages The Green Walberswick Suffolk IP18 6TP
Certificate of Lawfulness - Removal of a portion of the party wall between the dwellings on the ground floor to allow access between the two dwellings. No change to access from highway proposed. No external appearance changes proposed from existing planning permission DC/24/3069/FUL. However, LB Lambeth v SSLUHC [2024] EWHC 1391 is relevant insofar as it considered that a change of use of a building from one unit into two is expressly made development by s55(3)(a) TCPA 1990, whether or not it would otherwise be material. But an amalgamation from two units into one is only development if it is a material change of use. In this respect it is notable that in the 3 years to 2023 (the latest available Housing Delivery Test: 2023 Measurement, the Council has overdelivered against homes required. In addition, the recently published ?East Suffolk Interim Housing Position Statement? (March 2025) shows that the Council can demonstrate 6.39 years housing land supply. Moreover, it is pertinent that the Local Plan does not include any planning policy that expressly seeks to prevent the amalgamation of dwellings. It is also relevant that the pattern of use, in terms of the comings and goings associated with a single dwelling, would be of a similar level to the two separate dwellings, given the number of people they would comparably be able to house. Accordingly, the net loss of housing is insignificant and as per the case law above, the proposal does not represent a material change of use that necessitates the need for planning permission.