Nursery expansion in Hillingdon

After being refused planning to expand their nursery in Hillingdon in London, we created Statement of Case that allowed our client to grow their business

The Brief

Our clients instructed Atlas Planning Group to prepare and submit an appeal against London Borough of Hillingdon’s decision to refuse their planning application. The application related to a Nursery in Northwood. The proposal sought to change the use of the first floor flat to a staff room and classroom to be used in connection with the nursery.

Whilst the clients wanted to expand the business to accommodate a local need for more nursery places, the Council argued that the loss of the residential unit was unacceptable, and that the expansion of the nursery would cause unacceptable noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties.

Our Solution

Atlas Planning Group created a comprehensive Statement of Case, which outlined arguments in favour of the nursery expansion. We examined the policies of Hillingdon Development Plan documents in detail, explaining that the proposal was in fact in accordance with their saved Policies of the Unitary Development Plan.

Atlas Planning Group explored the local need for nursery school places to demonstrate that the proposal far outweighed the loss of one residential unit as our comprehensive research outlined that there was increasing pressure on social infrastructure within Hillingdon. The NPPF states that great weight should be given to proposals to create, expand or alter schools and therefore, we used appeal decisions to support our arguments and referenced the policies contained within the London Plan.

With regards to noise and disturbance, we were able to demonstrate that there would be no additional impacts from the proposal, particularly as the number of children using the outdoor play area remained as existing. To support our arguments, we referenced the original planning permission of the nursery, which applied a condition that restricted the number of children using the amenity space. We identified that this condition could equally apply to the proposed development. Furthermore, with the help of a new timber acoustic fence, there would be suitable mitigation for both visual and noise impacts from the play area.

Project Success

The Planning Inspector agreed with our arguments put forward within the Statement of Case and allowed the appeal. The clients can now expand their business and continue to provide a much-needed service in the community.