Planning permission was granted for the change of use of commercial premises in central Archway, London, but with restrictive conditions that hindered the flexibility of the owner to operate. The Council feared a betting shop use might open, and so sought to restrict permitted development rights through the use of a planning condition.

An application was made to remove the condition, which was refused permission. We were successful in having this condition removed through the appeal process. Our work on this complex case involved a comprehensive appraisal of the Archway commercial centre, analysis of betting shops in the locality, and assessment against the Council's detailed criteria for new betting shops. The appeal was allowed,with the condition being removed and so the flexibility restored to the property owner to exercise his permitted development rights.

Client: FabLets

We were pleased to see a project of ours mentioned in this month's House & Garden magazine: 'Victoria's Secret'. This was the change of use and internal alterations to an interesting listed building set on the corner opposite Victoria Station. It was believed the upper floors of the building were once lived in by a member of a foreign royal family, and we were involved in examining the history of the property and providing justification for the new work.

Client: Private company