Eight households on Downsview Road spent five years in legal battles to prevent a bungalow's replacement with flats, ultimately winning against Hambridge Investments Limited. Despite a court ruling confirming an almost 100-year-old legal agreement prohibiting the development, the group incurred 200,000 in legal fees, claiming 60,000 remains unpaid. The judge ruled that the developer could not proceed, facing jail time for non-compliance. Residents argue this situation exposes significant issues with the current planning laws, advocating for reforms that ensure developers must get consent from covenant beneficiaries before receiving planning permission.
We were really lucky on this road that eight households came together. But it stretched us to our limits... it's an expensive process and I think developers know that.
In the County Court order upholding the covenant, the judge said that the developer was not allowed to build a block of flats on the land and that its directors risked jail time if they pressed ahead with the plans.
Neighbours believe that their case reveals serious flaws with national and local policies and have now urged the Government to review planning laws.
Developers should be given planning permission with a condition that unless they get consent from the beneficiaries of a covenant, the planning shouldn't be consented.
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