Maria Ferguson Planning

04/06/2026

It's a successful week for certificates of lawfulness. This chap was renting out the first floor of his house, and the planning authority told him this required planning permission and that they wouldn't grant it. The case we made here was that the change of use took place more than 4 years ago and so was now immune (also, in the alternative, that no material change had been made...too long a story for a page)....anyway, it was approved and he doesn't need to evict his tenant. Link to decision below, but this is what they said:

The evidence submitted creates a convincing profile that 41 Bramley Garth has been in operation as two separate apartments for a continuous period of at least 4 years prior to the date the application was submitted. The evidence is considered to be sufficiently precise and unambiguous, and no evidence has come to light which contradicts it. Therefore, it is considered that sufficient evidence exists and has been supplied to demonstrate, on the balance of probability, that the lawful use of 41 Bramley Garth is as two separate apartments. A Certificate of Lawful Existing Use is therefore granted for the use of 41 Bramley Garth as two separate apartments.

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03/06/2026

Sometimes it’s easy to say when a householder development is ‘permitted development’ and doesn’t need planning permission….sometimes it’s not.

These poor clients have waited 15 months (!!) for an inspector to adjudicate on their outbuilding and today they agreed with us - the stable and garage does not need planning permission - certificate of lawfulness granted.

Issues that came into play on this:

-was the proposed use ‘incidental’ to the use of the house;
-which part of the site is the ‘ground level’ for the purposes of determining the height of the building; and
-were the ground works to level the site ‘engineering works’ in their own right requiring planning permission.

This is why when you ring me up and ask ‘do I need planning permission for…:’ I can’t always give you an immediate answer 🤷🏼‍♀️

02/06/2026

It was really fabulous to finally obtain planning permission for the variation of conditions that were limiting this business’s growth. The original planning application was extremely contentious and in order to be able to run weddings at the venue, the lovely family who run this business alongside their farm accepted extremely restrictive limitations. Those are now all gone, with some sensible safeguards for local residents, and the business is now able to diversify from solely weddings to all sorts of lovely celebrations throughout the year ❤️❤️❤️

The Tweddles said:

“After nearly a year of wranglings Maria was a constant support throughout this process….which finally paid off with a positive result in our favour!! Maria did an excellent job & we would highly recommend….”

Love is in the air 👏🏻

FAQ: "Is Sedgewell Barn really a blank canvas?"

YES! We give you the flexibility to create a wedding that is 100% you. From classic elegance to festival chic, our barns are ready for your wildest vision.

Which theme would you choose?

17/05/2026

Is your planning application appeal-ready?

Many appeals relating to applications submitted after 1st April will be subject to a new streamlined process, limiting the amount of information that can be submitted to support them.

It is therefore crucial that planning applications are appeal-ready, and where there is doubt about their chance of success, they are supported by a good planning statement, and all of the correct supporting technical information.

If you'd like someone to review your application and/or provide a supporting planning statement to accompany your submission, please get in touch

From 1 April most planning applications made to local planning authorities will follow a new route if they are appealed and decided via written representations 

16/05/2026

Wakefield Council aren’t monkeying around 🙈 he obviously extends beyond the primary elevation, so he must go….

Adele Teale is told the 4ft gorilla statue on her house in Wakefield must come down.

14/05/2026

A note on the use of AI in planning!

Someone used it this week to object to one of my planning applications. How did I know, you might ask….

There is no doubt the technology will revolutionise planning, but it’s very clear (and the same applies to court hearings and legal processes) that the while AI helps us work smarter, faster, and more efficiently, human oversight is still absolutely essential. Artificial intelligence provides the data and streamlines the process, but human experts use this to add full value and importantly fact check!!

I learned today that the mistakes AI makes are called ‘hallucinations’. An endearing term for the cock-ups that illustrate the fact that we can’t yet fully depend on its accuracy.

The objection to my application was hallucinating 🤣

Fascinating and exciting times for us all 🙌🏻

12/05/2026

Planning policy update … North Yorkshire County Council has extended the time period for its ‘call for sites’ for a further 6 weeks to 22nd June for their consideration as part of the future Local Plan 👍

01/05/2026

Permission in principle granted yesterday for 5 houses at this lovely site in Harmby, near Leyburn. Look at that view 😍 clients are delighted

30/04/2026

New fishing lake coming soon. I love an interesting, quirky project. Loads of things to grapple with on this one, not least a Roman road through the centre of the proposed lake! And who knew flood risk would be a thing? Anyway, watch this space (from the A66) 🙌🏻 because planning permission was granted this month !

17/04/2026

Good news incoming (I think).

The Government has timetabled the introduction of measures to streamline statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG). This includes a new exemption for small sites up to 0.2ha, as well as exemptions for temporary development up to 5 years. Changes anticipated to come into force 31st July 2026

That said, don’t expect developments to be exempt entirely, because councils may still use the metric as a tool to meet policy requirements for BNG, even if they’re exempt from statutory requirements

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