Decision Nº LC-2021-61. Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), 05-01-2023 , [2023] UKUT 2 (LC)
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Judge Elizabeth Cooke Mrs Diane Martin Surveyor Member |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] UKUT 2 (LC) |
| Date | 05 January 2023 |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) |
| Judgement Number | LC-2021-61 |
UPPER TRIBUNAL (LANDS CHAMBER)
UT Neutral citation number: [2023] UKUT 2 (LC) UTLC No: LC-2021-61
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand,
London WC2A 2LL
TRIBUNALS, COURTS AND ENFORCEMENT ACT 2007
RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS – DISCHARGE OR MODIFICATION – proposal to demolish
four properties and erect a 4-5 storey building of 33 flats in breach of single private
dwellinghouse covenants – whether covenants obsolete – practical benefits of substantial value
or advantage
AN APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 84 OF THE
LAW OF PROPERTY ACT 1925
BETWEEN: QUANTUM (BARROWSFIELD) LIMITED Applicant
-and-
ANDREW JOHN BELL AND ANDREA LYNNE BELL (1)
DEBRA GAIL JACOBS (2)
GERALD MARTIN DODD AND ELIZABETH JANET DODD (3)
BARROWSFIELD MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED (4)
Objectors
Re: 2, 3, 4 and 5 Barrowsfield,
South Croydon,
CR2 9BZ
Judge Elizabeth Cooke and Mrs Diane Martin MRICS FAAV
Heard on: 1-4 November 2022
Decision Date: 5 January 2023
Martin Hutchings KC, instructed by Walker Morris, for the applicant
Jonathan Wills, instructed by W Davies Solicitors, for the objectors
© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2022
3
Introduction
1. This is an application for the Tribunal to modify single dwellinghouse covenants that burden
the titles of properties known as Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 Barrowsfield in Sanderstead, South
Croydon. The applicant, Quantum (Barrowsfield) Limited, is the freehold owner of the
properties and has planning permission to demolish the houses currently standing on the
properties and to construct a 4/5 storey building of 33 flats on the whole site.
2. The first, second and third objectors live at Nos. 1A, 1B and 1C Barrowsfield. Initially the
owner of No.1 Barrowsfield, Mr Stephen Drysdale, was also an objector to the application,
but by the time of the hearing he had withdrawn his objection. The fourth objector,
Barrowsfield Management Company Limited, was formed in September 2020 to acquire the
freehold of the access road to the objectors’ properties; the first to third objectors are
shareholders in it.
3. We made an accompanied visit to Barrowsfield on the morning of 1 November 2022, and
are grateful to the first to third objectors for allowing us into their homes; we also walked
through the recreation ground to the south of Barrowsfield to understand the setting of the
proposed development and the objectors’ properties.
4. The applicants were represented by Mr Martin Hutchings KC and the objectors by Mr
Jonathan Wills and we are grateful for their submissions.
5. In this decision we set out first the factual background to the application, and then the legal
background. We then consider the evidence of fact and the expert evidence given for the
parties before explaining our conclusion.
The factual background
6. Sanderstead is a settlement in the London Borough of Croydon, described in the Croydon
Local Plan 2018 as “… a predominantly 1930s suburb, with a village character focused on
the pond and church, surrounded by substantial green space…”. The wider Sanderstead
Character Area is described as: “… a suburban place located on a hilltop, with residential
areas surrounded by large scale green open spaces such as Mitcheley Wood and Kings
Wood. The predominant residential character consists of detached housing on relatively
large plots on the hillsides leading to the centre, planned estates of semi-detached houses on
the top of Sanderstead Hill, and some local authority planned estates with public realm
toward Hamsey Green.”
7. The location plan below shows the Barrowsfield cluster of properties situated on the west of
Limpsfield Road within Sanderstead recreation ground, which forms part of the designated
Metropolitan Green Belt. Limpsfield Road is an important north-south route through
Sanderstead. Opposite the application site is a 2/3 storey development of “later living” flats,
known as Yew Tree Court, which was built in 2015 and designed to blend in appearance
with the parade of retail shops running northward from it on the same side of the road. To
the south of Yew Tree Court is a petrol filling station and beyond that, on the same side, is
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