- Decision
- dismissed, 9 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: S Ramsden
- Authority
- Barnet (London)
- Appeal reference
- 6007883
- Application reference
- 25/5055/RCU
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Retrospective change of use from 3-bed dwellinghouse (C3) to 4-person HMO (C4)
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S4(1)
- Development plan policies
- Barnet Local Plan 2025 HOU02, HOU04, TRC03, London Plan 2021 H9, D3, T4, T6.1
- Main issues
- housing mix; highway safety and parking
Summary
Retrospective C3→C4 HMO conversion of a three-bed house on a PTAL 2 main road was dismissed for conflict with Barnet's HMO-need and family-housing policies and unevidenced parking stress. The Inspector did not consult on the new Framework, saying the changes did "not affect the merits of this case in a material way" (DL ¶4).
What made the difference
No evidence of HMO need and no Lambeth-method parking survey. The letter ends by running the S4 test in its own words, without naming the code: "any benefits are substantially outweighed by the adverse effects when assessed against the national decision-making policies in the revised Framework and the development does not benefit from the presumption" (DL ¶25). This is an example of the within-settlement presumption being lost on plan-policy conflict plus a parking-safety concern.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnet LP HOU04 | conflict | no evidence of identified need for HMOs; PTAL 2 so not easily accessible (DL 9-13) | |
| TR4 | fail | parking stress/pavement parking; no Lambeth-methodology survey (DL 16-23); decided under London Plan T4/T6.1 and LP TRC03 | |
| S4(1) | fail | "any benefits are substantially outweighed by the adverse effects when assessed against the national decision-making policies in the revised Framework" (DL 25) |
Key facts
- Loss of a 3-bed family house; Article 4 removes C3→C4 PD rights borough-wide
- PTAL 2; on dualled B550 near North Circular junction; no on-site parking
- Parking evidence 3 snapshots, not the Lambeth methodology
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.