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The owner of six one-bedroom homes on Grove Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, has asked the district council to confirm that they can be let as holiday cottages without planning permission. The application covers all of Laburnum Cottages (Nos. 1–6), a red-brick row near the police station, and asks for the right to switch them back to ordinary homes later.
What’s being asked
This isn’t a normal planning application. It’s a request for a certificate of lawfulness (26/02232/LDP), which asks the council to rule on a point of law: would renting the six homes to holidaymakers count as a “material change of use”? If it doesn’t, no permission is needed and the owner can go ahead.
Nothing would be built or altered. The six units would stay as they are: self-contained, each with its own kitchen and bathroom, with shared outdoor space and cycle storage but no parking. The supporting statement from the agent, MSC Planning Associates of Redditch, says the change is only in how long people stay, not in how the homes are used.
The owner’s case
The statement leans on a 2012 Court of Appeal case, Moore v Secretary of State, which found that holiday letting a house doesn’t automatically amount to a change of use; it depends on the facts. It argues that small one-bedroom units can’t be used for large groups or parties, that there would be no reception, bar or shared facilities, and that visitors would use them just as residents do, for “sleeping, cooking, eating, washing, relaxing”. It also points out that the town-centre location means guests don’t need cars.
The council gave permission in 2014 (14/02037/FUL) for two extra one-bedroom flats and a bike and bin store, which made the group up to six homes.
Why it matters
If the certificate is granted, all six homes could be let to visitors instead of people living in Stratford, without planning permission, and switched back whenever the owner chooses. The application covers the whole row at once.
Because it’s a legal test, the council can’t weigh up whether holiday lets are a good or bad idea here. It can only decide whether, on the facts, the change in use is “material”. Warwickshire County Council’s ecology team had no comment, and no other consultee replies or public comments had been posted when we checked.
What happens next
The application was received on 4 September, and the council aims to decide it by Friday 30 October. You can read the statement and comment on facts relevant to the legal question on the council’s planning site. We’ll report the decision. For other applications near you, see our Planning near me map and all our planning news.
Alex Harrington
Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.
