Homeowners bid to keep using Telford chalet as living space
Telford homeowners are asking for immunity from council enforcement action over the continued use of a chalet on their land as a home.
The chalet at Lincoln Hill, Ironbridge, was allowed to be used as a living space only for the previous occupiers who used it as a granny annexe until she died.
Now planning agents say that a change in the law last year means that the property can still be used as a dwellinghouse.
Planning agent Dr Hazel Nash, of Acorus Rural Property Services Ltd, in Exeter, Devon, has told planners that the property has been owned by Rolf Behrsing and Dominika Bienkowska since October 2023.
“The grandmother of the previous owner lived in the chalet until her death,” the agent writes. “Since 1986 The Chalet has been occupied as a separate and independent dwelling.”
The agent writes that as the rules in such circumstances changed on April 25, 2024 the chalet can now continue to be used as a residence.
They add: “The Certificate of Lawfulness application seeks to confirm that the use of The Chalet has been continuously used as a single dwellinghouse for more than 10 years prior to April 25 2024.”
The chalet was built in approximately 1984/85 and council tax has been paid on it since 1993, the agent adds.
“The property has been lived in as a separate and unconnected unit of residential accommodation since at least 1999,”planners have been told.
“The chalet has been in breach of the occupancy condition, having been used as a dwelling at this location, for more than 10 years and as such use is now lawful,” the agent adds.
They add that in their assessment it is “now immune from enforcement action and therefore an appropriate certificate of lawfulness should be granted.
“It should also be noted that the applicant has not taken any steps to deliberately prevent the authority from discovering the use and there is no issue with concealment.”
A public consultation exercise has been started on the Telford & Wrekin Council planning portal with the reference TWC/2025/0816.
Among those being directly consulted are neighbours in Ironbridge, The Gorge Parish Council and the area’s borough councillor, and officials at the council.
