Keenan v Woking Borough Council & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 438
The point in plain English: A council missing a prior-approval deadline does not turn development into permitted development if the proposal never satisfied the basic conditions of the GPDO class in the first place.
What happened
The case concerned a proposed agricultural or forestry track. The developer argued that because the local planning authority had not acted within the relevant 28-day period, the development could proceed under the permitted development right.
The underlying problem was more fundamental: the proposal did not satisfy the requirements needed to fall within the relevant permitted development class.
What the Court of Appeal decided
The Court rejected the argument that expiry of the prior-approval period could manufacture a permitted development right. The procedural provisions governing prior approval only operate once the proposed development is within the class of development for which the GPDO grants permission.
The appeal was dismissed.
Why Keenan matters
It is an important distinction in prior approval cases. A deemed or timed-out procedural result cannot cure a failure to satisfy the threshold requirements of the permitted development right itself.
Our prior approval guide explains the difference between qualifying permitted development and the procedure used to obtain or determine prior approval.
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