You don’t have a right to turn your garage into a meditation room, Milton Keynes resident told

A resident has been refused the automatic right to be able to turn his double garage into a ‘meditation and restorative room’.
Milton Keynes Council HQMilton Keynes Council HQ
Milton Keynes Council HQ

Andrew Elderton, of Hockliffe Brae, in Walnut Tree, had applied to Milton Keynes Council for a certificate of lawfulness for the proposed conversion.

Mr Elderton told the council that his proposal should be treated as a “permitted development” in the same way as many residents have without the need to apply for planning permission.

He said that similar garages had been converted to habitable rooms and they “do not require planning permission under permitted development.”

Milton Keynes Council HQMilton Keynes Council HQ
Milton Keynes Council HQ

He said the changes would mean replacing two garage doors with windows and having vapour and damp proof membranes, insulation and finishes.

However, council planners disagreed, and in her decision report, Charlotte Ashby, said the proposed conversion would fail to comply with general permitted development rights.

“The Certificate of Lawfulness may not therefore be granted,” she said.

Mr Elderton has been told that he has the right to appeal against the council’s decision.