A Notting Hill homeowner who won a two-year £10,000 planning battle over a wooden privacy fence is now seeking permission to tear the structure down – and replace it with an ultra-modern extension.
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who → win → extension
Dr Michael Young became embroiled in a row with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC) after building a screen on his roof which they ordered he remove in 2024.
Dr Young, who works in financial services, maintained the screen was approved by the council in 2019, 2022 and 2023 – resulting in a two-and-a-half-year-long dispute involving the Planning Inspectorate and costing him almost £10,000 in planning consultants', legal and architects' fees.
Yet despite the inspectorate ultimately ruling in his favour in May, Dr Young sought permission earlier this year to voluntarily tear down the screen he spent more than five years fighting to keep – and replace it with a three-storey extension costing £500,000.
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he → embroil → 500,000
But on Tuesday, councillors from the RBKC rejected his plans for the new extension by four votes to one, leaving Dr Young set to go head to head with the council one more time after instructing his planning consultant to appeal the decision.
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councillors → reject → decision
Dr Young told the Daily Mail the council's refusal to accept his plans is not 'justified'.
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refusal → tell → plans
He said: 'I heard plenty about why councillors disliked the building at the committee meeting.
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councillors → say → meeting
I heard considerably less about why the evidence justified refusing it.
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evidence → hear → it
I accept that good architecture can divide opinion.
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architecture → accept → opinion
What I cannot accept is an officer's report that, in my view, gave the objections a megaphone and the supporting evidence a whisper.
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evidence → accept → megaphone
Any assessment deserved the whole picture.
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assessment → deserve → picture
Notting Hill homeowner Dr Michael Young is seeking to add an ultra-modern £500,000 extension to his home
Dr Young had been embroiled in a row with Kensington and Chelsea Council after erecting a screen on his roof which he was ordered to remove in 2024 (Pictured: The wooden privacy screen)
Dr Young previously won a £10,000 planning battle with the council over the wooden screen.
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Young → seek → screen
Now he plans to tear it down completely (pictured)
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he → plan → it
The scheme deserves a proper and impartial examination, and I intend to pursue the appeal that will give it one.
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that → deserve → one
I will now appeal and see whether the evidence can carry the weight of that confidence.'
A RBKC Planning Committee meeting on the plans, hosted on Tuesday, October 6, saw four Conservative councillors vote against the plans, while Jack Reason, a Labour and Co-operative councillor, backed the proposal.
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Reason → appeal → proposal
Conservative councillor Lloyd North told the committee: 'We all walk around the borough and look at buildings and say: who on Earth gave that planning permission?'
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who → tell → permission
A report released by the RBKC on Thursday further detailed the council's reasons for rejecting the plans.
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report → release → plans
It read: 'The proposed development would appear overly dominant and unsympathetic by virtue of its prominent and uncharacteristic positioning, excessive height and bulk and atypical form.
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development → read → positioning
'The proposal would therefore fail to protect neighbouring living conditions.'
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proposal → fail → conditions
The extension – which Dr Young said would be constructed off-site and assembled at the property – would replace the £1.2million home's open terrace with a 'private structure'.
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Young → say → structure
In terms of the design, he said: 'It is one storey with a mezzanine.
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It → say → mezzanine
It is designed specifically to ensure that there is no overlooking terrace.
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It → design → ?
The extension would replace the £1.2million home's open terrace with a 'private structure' assembled off-site (Pictured: An architect's drawing of the extension)
The extension would be one storey with three levels, including a mezzanine
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extension → replace → mezzanine
Dr Young said neighbours he has spoken to have no objections to the extension being built
He added he has spoken to some neighbours regarding his plans – with most having no objections.
Dr Young said: 'I have spoken to some neighbours, but not all.
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I → say → neighbours
Some of the neighbours are very supportive because the extension removes the terrace.
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extension → remove → terrace
Terraces tend not to be viewed very favourably, because people can have parties on them, making noise.'
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people → tend → noise
Dr Young also maintained there are 'many upsides' to building an extension such as this – driving his ambitions to ultimately have it approved by the council.
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it → maintain → council
He said: 'The extension would improve the area and the streetscape, not just my home.
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extension → say → area
It would also introduce modern architecture into the conservation area.
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It → introduce → area
I have got no issue per se, with the irony of building this because the battle with the council initially because that was simply a point of principle.
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that → get → principle
Whereas this is something that will increase the living conditions of the property, and in turn, will improve the street, and I believe the conservation area as well.'
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I → increase → street
Dr Young's original dispute began after the RBKC concluded his privacy screen breached planning rules as it was not included in a planning application he submitted in 2019.
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he → begin → 2019
But earlier this year, the Planning Inspectorate ruled the plans did 'explicitly' reference a roof terrace and a privacy screen could reasonably be included within that.
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screen → rule → that
A report by the inspectorate found: 'The description of development does not explicitly refer to boundary treatment on the roof terrace.
'
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description → find → terrace
However, the roof terrace itself is explicitly referred to in the description of development and shown on the approved plans.
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terrace → refer → plans
Dr Young was granted permission to construct the fence at the heart of his original row with the council in 2019
Dr Young's planned extension would see the open terrace and wooden fence demolished entirely
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terrace → grant → 2019
It follows, therefore, that 2019 permission incorporates boundary treatment on the roof terrace, in the form as shown on the approved plans comprised in the 2019 permission.
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permission → follow → permission
'
In 2022 and 2023, Dr Young requested to alter the plans he made in 2019.
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he → request → 2019
The 2022 plans were annotated to reflect 'timber screening' on the black railings, as well as the inclusion of a 'trellis for screen'.
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plans → annotate → screen
Permission was once again granted for these alterations, according to the report, as the council did not request further details to be agreed nor explicitly exclude the erection of a timber screen.
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details → grant → screen
The 2023 plans also clearly outlined the building of the fence, with the report confirming it approved documents 'clearly show the erection of a "pressure treated timber cladding trellis privacy screen".'
Yet the RBKC again did not request for more details of boundary treatment on the terrace to be agreed, or ask for it to be omitted.
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it → outline → terrace
As a result, the inspector said they considered the 'approved plans incorporate the erection of a timber screen on the roof terrace'.
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plans → say → terrace
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
