Many thanks to this resident who rightly points out that the history of this unlawful development needs to be made part of the record. It would be a gross injustice if the developer of number 21 were to be rewarded for breaking the rules. It would seem only right that any monies he has received from illegal lettings should be clawed back by the Council.
Dear Ms Thomas
Could you please explain the status of this application and in particular why the summary dossier on the website states 'Unfortunately, the consultation period for this application is not open'; also why, when one clicks on 'view documents', a message appears stating 'there are no active search results to display'.
My understanding is that there have been repeated complaints to the Council over the past 4 or 5 years about the illegal conversion, without planning permission, of a former family house into a large number (originally 9) of bedsits. This conversion originally included the opening up of a front basement area with full-size residential window. Later this was decked over - I suspect only temporarily - perhaps in response to inquiries from the Council. The house has since been occupied by numerous tenants.
Earlier this year I drew the case personally to the attention of Cllr Andrew Harper, on an occasion when he was passing through Middleton Road to view the outside of another property that was at the time the subject of a planning application.
Please could you set out the full history, with relevant dates, of enforcement action taken by the Council and explain why the owner has not been required long since to reverse the illegal works that have been carried to No 21 and to restore it to its original state.
It goes without saying that I and majority of neighbours in Middleton Road will wish to object strongly to this application and will look to the Council - as we have been doing for several years - to refuse a certificate of lawful development for work which should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. Consequently we expect the Council to take decisive enforcement action in this case and to see it through to conclusion.
Yours sincerely