Warren Farm (Wokingham) Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Wokingham Borough Council

Article 7(c) of the Town and Country Planning (England) (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 permits an agreed extension only where no decision period is specified under article 7(b). It does not extend a period expressly specified in Schedule 2 under article 7(a).

Where the statutory period expires without the required decision, the GPDO may produce a deemed grant of planning permission. A later decision is then without jurisdiction and must be quashed. The permission extends only to development within the relevant permitted-development class and carried out in accordance with the application details.

The claimant applied for prior approval to convert an agricultural building into a dwelling under Class Q of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (England) (General Permitted Development) Order 2015. The authority received the application on 15 November 2018. The applicable 56-day period expired on 10 January 2019.

The authority requested, and the claimant agreed to, an extension until 31 January. On 30 January the authority refused prior approval. The claimant sought judicial review, arguing that article 7(c) could not extend the period specified in paragraph W(11). The issue was whether article 7(c) operated as an alternative to both article 7(a) and (b), or only to article 7(b).

1. Claim allowed. The refusal dated 30 January 2019 was quashed as made without jurisdiction.
2. Article 7(c) must be read as an alternative to article 7(b) only, not article 7(a). Article 7(a) applies where Schedule 2 specifies a decision period. Article 7(b) applies where no period is specified, and article 7(c) permits a longer period to be agreed in that situation.
3. Paragraph W(11) forms part of the conditions attached to permitted development under article 3. In the relevant context, paragraph W(11)(c), although expressed negatively, means that once 56 days have expired without notification, the developer has satisfied the relevant condition and may commence development. The resulting deemed grant cannot be postponed by an agreed extension under article 7(c).
4. Reading article 7(c) as extending a specified Schedule 2 period would create an inconsistency with paragraph W(11)(c) and require words to be implied into that provision. The structure of the GPDO, together with the objectives of prompt administration and certainty, supported the narrower construction.
5. The deemed grant occurred on 10 January 2019. No declaration was necessary. The quashing order was the appropriate relief, and the permission extended only to development falling within Class Q and complying with the details provided in the paragraph W application, as required by paragraph W(12)(b).