Car Dealership Loses Appeal Over Planning Permission Battle

H Tones in Oxford Rd Hartlepool

The Governments Planning Inspectorate rejected the garages appeal to overturn a previous council decision to refuse planning permission for the installation of a roller shutter door despite the works already being completed.

10th Feb 2025

A Hartlepool car dealership’s bid to overturn a council decision refusing them planning permission for the installation of a roller shutter door allowing the business access to a storage yard has failed, with the government's Planning Inspectorate dismissing the appeal outright.

The roller shutter door was installed without planning permission, allowing the business access onto a nearby street (image source, Google Maps)

H. Tones Garage, located on Oxford Road, had applied for retrospective planning permission for a roller shutter door, which provided access to a storage yard via a neighbouring street several months ago. However, the dealership reportedly installed the door without prior council approval, leading to its application then being denied by the council’s planning committee in October 2024.

Back in December 2024, Hartlepool Borough Council Exposed reported on the controversy surrounding the unauthorised development. Following the council’s refusal, enforcement officers were reportedly said to have issued notice demanding that the business restore the building back to its original state.

In its decision to dismiss the appeal, the Planning Inspectorate agreed with the local council regarding concerns over parking and highway safety.

The official report stated:

“I cannot agree that the proposed development would not interfere with residents’ parking. This is because it would still result in the loss of the space to the front, where residents would be reluctant to park across such an access even outside of the parking restrictions and operational hours due to it presenting an obstruction. For the above reasons, the proposed development would unacceptably harm highway safety. It would therefore be contrary to Policies QP3 and RC21 (1) of the Hartlepool Local Plan.”

The inspector acknowledged the broader support for economic development but maintained that all developments must comply with planning policies, which this scheme failed to do.

“I appreciate that there is support shown locally and nationally for economic development in sustainable locations, but development would still need to comply with the above policies, which this scheme does not.”

The report also noted the appellant’s frustrations with the council’s handling of the application but clarified that concerns about character, appearance, residential impact, and flood risk did not alter the overall conclusion.

“I am mindful of the operational requirements of the business and matters relating to viability and, in turn, the economy, but this would not be a sufficient enough reason to justify harmful development nor outweigh the identified harm.”

Additionally, the argument that congestion issues caused by the nearby bus stop on Oxford Road should justify the development were also dismissed.

With the appeal rejected, The Garage now faces the difficult task of complying with the council’s enforcement notice, with the decision said to have reinforced the importance of obtaining the right legal advice in securing planning permission first before making structural changes to commercial properties.