Councillors and planning officers at Kensington and Chelsea council must be well-versed in dealing with vociferous complaints from their residents.
They have the envious position of being in charge of protecting some of the most historic streets in London, but at the same time they will be on the receiving end of the wrath of those objecting to developments.
It seems that the more recognisable the name of the residents of the property to be developed, the more such schemes come under the microscope. The latest - ultimately unsuccessful - complaints to the council came from the neighbours of David and Victoria Beckham, following the Beckhams’ purchase of their London property in Holland Park, nicknamed ‘Beckingham Palace II’.
Many people would not get too excited about the installation of an air-conditioning unit in their neighbours’ garden, but the installation and replacement of such ‘necessary evils’ fall within the planning regime and require planning permission. And the process provided the Beckhams’ neighbours with an opportunity to file an objection.
Objections to any planning application always take on a very different theme where those proposals either relate to or affect the character and setting of a listed building. There are important legal principles that are applicable to applications affecting listed buildings and planning authorities are required to have regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting.
The failure to give sufficient weight and due regard to the impacts of any listed building is filled with traps for the unwary and can lead to successful legal challenges at court to overturn any planning permission granted.
It is clear that the Beckhams’ neighbours may have good reason to complain, as there have been extensive changes undertaken to the listed building. The property already has permission for much of the work being undertaken to the building and further changes were proposed, including the need for an air-conditioning unit in the garden. Noise, dust and vibration concerns can form perfectly legitimate reasons for objecting to such applications, as can the visual impact.
The assessment of whether works preserve or enhance the character of a building is inevitably subjective, but the legal tests associated with listed buildings are far more taxing, and the weight that the planning authority gives to the various competing positions is not a task to be envied. In this case the Beckhams won the day, but the outcome was far from certain.
Jay Das is head of planning at Wedlake Bell
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