When Can You Refuse Consent Under A Restrictive Covenant?

Holland Park and the village of East Dean in the South Downs National Park might not appear at first blush to have much in common, but both areas are now subject to Court decisions about when consent under a qualified restrictive covenant can be reasonably withheld, particularly when taking issues of amenity and heritage into account.

Gowling WLG previously represented the successful party in the Court of Appeal in 89 Holland Park Management Limited v Sophie Hicks [2020] EWCA Civ 758, which found that aesthetic considerations can be taken into account when a party with the benefit of a restrictive covenant is asked to consent to development of the land subject to that covenant. The Court of Appeal made the important finding in that case that "a neighbour has a legitimate interest in the appearance of what is built next door to him".