- Decision
- dismissed, 15 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: John Morrison (on recommendation of Appeal Planning Officer S Manson)
- Authority
- Kirklees (Yorkshire and the Humber)
- Appeal reference
- 6009626
- Application reference
- 2026/62/90733/W
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Subdivision of terraced house into two apartments
- Homes
- 1
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S4, P3
- Development plan policies
- Kirklees Local Plan 2019 LP24, Housebuilders Design Guide SPD 2021
- Main issues
- living conditions of future occupiers
Summary
Splitting a Huddersfield terraced house into two flats was dismissed. The basement living room of Apartment 1 would have very poor daylight and outlook. Under S4, the P3 harm (substantial weight, "permanent and enduring") substantially outweighed the moderate benefit of one extra home (DL ¶13-14).
What made the difference
A single window behind a porch facing a retaining wall. Whether the flats met NDSS did not matter, because the daylight and outlook failure alone was enough (DL ¶9).
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 | fail | substantial | basement living room lit by one window behind a porch facing a retaining wall - poor daylight and outlook (DL 6-9, 13) |
| S4 | fail | one net additional unit, moderate weight, substantially outweighed (DL 12-14) |
Key facts
- Net gain of one dwelling; apparent undersupply acknowledged but not quantified
- Framework changes judged immaterial - no further consultation (DL 3)
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.