When is a Boat not a Boat?

If something was described to you as a floating structure moored in a river, you would be forgiven for assuming that what was being described was a boat – but it isn’t necessarily so, as a Norfolk couple found.

Using a barge as a base, they built a two-storey houseboat, which they moored at Thorpe Island on the Norfolk Broads. However, the local planning authority issued an enforcement notice requiring the structure be dismantled as it was an ‘unauthorised development’ and breached planning regulations.

The couple appealed against the enforcement notice, claiming that the structure is a boat.

A report prepared by a local planning inspector concluded that the absence of navigational equipment or a propulsion system means that the structure is not a boat and upheld the original decision.

Planning authorities will generally take a very hard line if they think the planning laws are being openly flouted. We can advise you on all aspects of planning law.