- Decision
- allowed, 8 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: John Felgate
- Authority
- East Hertfordshire (East of England)
- Appeal reference
- 6010708
- Application reference
- 3/25/1349/FUL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Appeal against hours-of-use condition on replacement motor-repair workshop
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- No Framework version cited
- Determinative policies
- s38(6), DM6
- Development plan policies
- East Herts District Plan 2018 DES4, EQ2
- Main issues
- hours-of-use condition; neighbour amenity
Summary
An appeal against an hours-of-use condition on a replacement village motor-repair workshop. Allowed, with the hours aligned to a later variation the council itself granted. The letter never mentions the Framework, old or new. It is a short conditions decision resting on development plan noise policies and the later permission.
What made the difference
The council's own later, more generous permission made the disputed condition unreasonable. A narrow use restriction was refused because it would jeopardise financing (DL ¶8).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM6 | pass | hours condition varied to match later council-granted VAR (06.00-21.00 weekdays); council's use-restriction condition rejected as threatening fundability/viability (DL 5-8); letter cites no Framework policy — code mapped by harvester |
Key facts
- Council had since granted 3/26/0359/VAR with wider hours, so old condition no longer reasonable (DL 4, 6)
- Proposed restriction to MOT/repairs only would deter lenders (DL 8)
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.