- Decision
- dismissed, 17 August 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Gary Deane
- Authority
- Coventry (West Midlands)
- Appeal reference
- 6005849
- Application reference
- PL/2025/0001016/FUL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Change of use from Class E to 4 flats next to a live-music pub
- Homes
- 4
- Site context
- inside settlement, conservation area
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- No Framework version cited
- Determinative policies
- P3(2)(a)
- Development plan policies
- Coventry Local Plan 2017 DS3, H3, emerging Coventry Local Plan Review EM15
- Main issues
- living conditions (noise); adjoining pub
Summary
Four flats next to a live-music pub on a busy road. Internal noise could be mitigated, and the pub (agent of change) would not be restricted. But the garden would stay well above the 55 dB upper guideline even with a barrier. Substantial weight was given to that harm, and it outweighed the moderate weight for reusing a vacant building. Dismissed. The letter (dated 17 Aug) cites only "the Framework" without a version.
What made the difference
The acoustic report's own measurements (68.4 dB at the garden façade) contradicted its prediction for the garden, and the residual exceedance "would not be marginal". Conditions could not fix this (DL ¶¶11–14).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| P3(2)(a) | fail | substantial | garden measured at 68.4 dB LAeq,16hr; even with 10 dB barrier attenuation 58.4 dB > 55 dB upper guideline; appellant's prediction used the wrong baseline (DL 8-15, 23) |
| P4 | pass | agent-of-change; internal mitigation does not rely on restricting the pub (DL 16-18) | |
| L2(1)(b) | benefit | moderate | vacant building in disrepair back into use plus 4 dwellings (DL 22) |
Key facts
- Internal noise mitigated (party-wall treatment predicts ~21 dB(A))
- External amenity exceedance "not marginal", no alternative amenity offered
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.