[2024] UKUT 00001 (LC)

Bude is a small seaside town on the north Cornwall coast and is located about 19 miles north west of Launceston.  Exeter is about 50 miles to the east and Plymouth is 45 miles to the south. Redwood Grove is a cul-de-sac containing 22 dwellings situated about 0.5 miles east of Bude town centre.   The property occupies a rectangular site at the junction of Redwood Grove and Redwood Close, another cul-de-sac containing four bungalows.  The site is orientated north/south with the front facing south and the rear and garden facing north. The plan below shows the property and its immediate surroundings.

The property was originally a detached bungalow with 3 bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite bathroom, a kitchen, lounge and further family bathroom.  A short concrete driveway leads to an integral single garage.   The rear garden is partly laid out as a patio with the remainder having a gravel surface.  Part of the front garden is used for parking and has a concrete surface with the rest being laid to gravel.

The extensions were to the kitchen area and to the third bedroom and are indicated on the plan. They were conventionally constructed with rendered walls under a concrete tiled pitched roof. Both rooms have doors opening on to a small patio area. The kitchen extension has been constructed with a ceiling which is open to the underside of the roof structure and has full height glazing in the gable end. In terms of internal dimensions, the bedroom extension is approximately 2 metres deep by 2.5 metres wide and the kitchen extension is approximately 3.5 metres deep and 3.5 metres wide. The extensions did not require planning permission as their relatively modest size fell within the criteria for permitted development. Building Control approval was sought and obtained.

Although the conveyance containing the covenant was completed in 1980, it is necessary to go back a little further in time to fully understand the context and events that gave rise to the covenant. In 1969 Mr Roy Dinshaw, the father of Michael, Ian and Anthony, acquired Langfield Manor, a large house with grounds including what is now Redwood Close and part of Redwood Grove. Mr Dinshaw’s wife at the time, was also a party to the transaction. In 1980 Mr and Mrs Dinshaw started to dispose of the land associated with the house. Much of the land had fallen into disuse and comprised, amongst other uses, a former tennis court, greenhouses, and scrubland.

The disposals appear to have been conducted in a piecemeal manner and the land was sold to local builders on a plot by plot basis for development. Amongst the first plots to be sold was the site of the property. Mr Roy Dinshaw and his wife built 5 Redwood Close and occupied it as their home. Langfield Manor was subsequently sold and has since been redeveloped. The objectors in this case inherited the benefited land from their father but the title is still registered in his name.