Three months ago I applied for planning permission to brick up an internal doorway . I was required to do it by building control who said that because I had let the upstairs and downstairs under separate contracts to separate people I had created two flats and must regularise the situation . The planners did not mind me converting the property but wanted me to split it left and right with two staircases instead of top and bottom . Too much work and would result in two less liveable units ! They have now formally rejected my application with the following reasoning ! The proposed conversion of the property into two flats would represent an over-development of this site , which would create conditions likely to give rise to overlooking of the private amenity space to serve the ground floor flat and a loss of outlook and light due to the elevated position of boundary treatments and would be detrimental to the living standards of prospective occupants of the ground floor flat and according