A BID to legalise a one-bedroom home in Bulphan has been refused after Thurrock Council ruled the owner failed to prove it had been used as an independent dwelling for the required period.

The application sought a Certificate of Existing Lawful Use for a single‑storey property near the north Thurrock village.

Applicant Matthew Madel argued the building, on a site accessed by a lane off Dunnings Lane, had operated as a self-contained home for more than four years — long enough to make it immune from enforcement action under planning law.

According to documents submitted with the application, the building was completed in March 2021 and first occupied on June 1 that year. The applicant also stated that access and driveway works were finished in 2018. Because the development was completed before changes to planning legislation in April 2024 — when the "four‑year rule" was replaced with a ten‑year requirement — the shorter time limit could still apply.

However, in a delegated report, a planning officer concluded that the evidence provided did not prove on the balance of probabilities that the building had been continuously used as a separate dwelling for four years.

A number of documents were submitted, including a tenancy agreement, bank statements, statutory declarations and aerial images.

The tenancy agreement, showing an arrangement beginning in June 2021, was redacted and lacked the tenant's signature. Bank statements showed quarterly payments from the named tenant but lacked references confirming they were rent.

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Aerial imagery supplied by the applicant showed the structure in place from 2022 onwards, but planning officers said these images did not demonstrate residential use or any defined private garden area.

Council records also showed no council tax account or building control history,which officers said would be expected for an independent home. Land Registry documents indicated the building did not exist as a separate title from the main house.

After further evidence was requested, the applicant confirmed no utility or council tax documentation existed because services were linked to the main property — something the council said suggested annex-style occupation rather than independent residential use.

As a result, the council refused the application, stating it could not be satisfied that continuous independent residential use had taken place for more than four years.

The owner could now submit a retrospective planning application and was advised that further pre‑application discussions could take place. If a future planning application is rejected the council may consider enforcement action.