Curtilage - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

In Dyer v Dorset County Council 1988 the Court of Appeal held that “in the absence of any definition, curtilage bore its restricted and established meaning connoting a small area forming part or parcel with the house or building which it contained or to which it was attached.” This is a matter of fact and degree in each case. The definition contained in the Oxford English Dictionary has also been used, this definition states: “A small courtyard, girth or piece of ground attached to a dwellinghouse and forming one enclosure with it or so regarded by the law the area attached to and containing a dwellinghouse and its outbuildings”. Following this definition, the kind of ground usually attached to a dwellinghouse would be a garden. It need not be an area that is marked off or enclosed in any way, it is enough that it serves the purpose of the house or building in some reasonably useful way. In Collins -v- Secretary of State for the Environment, the Court upheld an Inspector's findings that an area of rough grass largely neglected which lay beyond the well cut lawns near the dwellinghouse did not form part of its curtilage even though this land was in the same occupation because the land did not serve the dwellinghouse in some necessary or useful manner. Similarly, in James -v- Secretary of State for the Environment the court upheld an Inspector's finding that a tennis court that had been constructed at the end of a field away from the dwellinghouse was not within its curtilage, the field was separate and distinct from the cultivated garden attached to the house and the house and tennis court did not have the appearance of being within the same enclosure. In The Hon. David McAlpine v SOS & Another (14/11/94) the High Court identified three relevant characteristics of a curtilage: · First, it was confined to a small area about a building; · second, an intimate association with land which was undoubtedly within the curtilage was required; · third, it was not necessary for there to be physical enclosure of that land which was within the curtilage but the land in question needed to be regarded in law as part of one enclosure with the house. Therefore it is considered that case law has clearly defined what is considered to be curtilage associated with a dwelling.

I did an enforcement appeal at Inquiry on this last year. If you let me have your email address I can send you the relevant bit from my statement which might help. It covers the cases mentioned above.

Christine Can you send the relevant bit of the enforcement appeal to rob@planrltd.co.uk. Many thanks

Opps - sorry. I can see that I need to change my profile. Mr Pickles determined that I should 'move on' from the Audit Commission!

I should also be grateful for a copy of the relevant bit of the appeal statement , and decision, many thanks David Seex (seexd@westminster.ac.uk)

Hi Christine I'm not sure how to PM you on this forum but i would be gratefull if you could forward the info to barry@eagle-cars.co.uk Thanks