Development Intent
AtlasHammersmith and FulhamOfficersAisling Merriman
Case officer · Hammersmith And Fulham Planning

Aisling Merriman.

Last recorded decision Dec 2023 — no decisions in this record since

A case officer at Hammersmith And Fulham with an approval rate of 93% across 127 decided planning applications, spanning 13 wards.[1] Decision speed and appeal performance publish when decision notices are ingested.

Planning officer127 decisions93% approvalSave
Hammersmith And Fulham · ward map
Approval rate — by ward
Lower ~68%
Higher ~90%
ShowingAll years · subscriber →across all years on record — a period re-scopes the headline figures and the trend
At a glanceEach metric links to the investigation behind it
All investigations →
127
Applications
2021–23
Approval rate over time — tougher or softer 🔒Dashed line = London average
avg 81%92%202293%202390%2024
Approval-rate trend is subscriber dataSubscribe to see the trend →
What they decide — by application type
How they compareVersus peers
Approval rate93% · 25th of 45
higher is betterdashed = London avg
Decision time · publishes with decision notices
in development
Appeal overturn · publishes with decision notices
in development
How this officer decides — from their own reports62 officer reports parsed
16%
Approves despite concerns
of approvals record a documented reservation
4%
Negotiated approvals
approvals mentioning revisions/amendments
2%
"On balance" reports
reports using explicit balancing language
93%
Bespoke reasoning
of report text written for the case, not recited
What they write about — vs Hammersmith And Fulham's average officer

Topic mentions per 1,000 words of their own report text (boilerplate stripped), indexed against all parsed Hammersmith And Fulham reports. Attention, not stance.

Materials & detailing
2.06× borough avg
Flooding & drainage
1.25× borough avg
Daylight & sunlight
1.19× borough avg
Privacy & overlooking
1.08× borough avg
Character & heritage
0.98× borough avg

Mark = borough average (1×). Bar capped at 2×.

How they reason — coded from their reports

Merriman's caseload includes a notable share of window replacement and conservation-area alterations, and she is distinctive for stating the precise measured distance in metres between a new or replacement window and the nearest opposing neighbouring window, checking it against the 18m/60-degree-arc privacy standard explicitly rather than a qualitative judgement. On roof terraces that formally infringe the 45-degree line, she compares the proposed terrace's overall area against a specific, named comparable terrace already approved at a neighbouring address, noting where the new terrace would in fact be smaller despite extending marginally further in one dimension.

Observable habits

· states the precise measured distance in metres between a new or replacement window and the nearest opposing neighbouring window, checked explicitly against the 18m/60-degree-arc privacy standard

· compares a proposed roof terrace's overall area directly against a specific, named comparable terrace already approved at a neighbouring address under its own reference, even noting where the new terrace is smaller overall despite one dimension extending further

· treats an EXISTING building that already infringes the 45-degree angle as context reducing the marginal impact of a new addition, while still explicitly acknowledging the technical infringement rather than omitting it

What their reports consistently look for

· the precise distance in metres between a new or replacement window and the nearest opposing habitable room window, tested against the 18m/60-degree-arc standard

· whether a proposed roof terrace's overall area is smaller than a specific, named comparable terrace already approved at a neighbouring address

· whether the EXISTING building already infringes the 45-degree angle, providing context for assessing a new addition's marginal impact

Assigned Aisling Merriman on a live case?What they pay attention to, how they reason, and what their reports consistently look for — so you can address it before they raise it.Subscribe to unlock →
In their own words

None of the existing windows are located less than 18 m from existing opposing windows measured in an arc of 60 degrees from the centre of the proposed windows.

2022/02806/FUL

would align with the approved roof terrace at No. 44 Stronsa Road (permitted under application 2020/02776/FUL) and would nevertheless have a smaller overall area than this approved terrace given its narrow width

2021/00594/FUL

Measured from 62 published Hammersmith And Fulham officer reports written by this officer, with recited policy boilerplate stripped before any counting. These describe how this officer works and writes — they are not outcome predictions. Every quote is from a named public report.

Policy playbook — what this officer cites[3]

The policies this officer cites most in their own reports — times cited across 62 parsed reports. Whether refusals citing each survive appeal isn't traced per policy yet.

DC1Built environment quality and integration
52 times cited
DC4High standard of design for alterations and extensions
50 times cited
HO11Detailed Residential Standards
45 times cited
DC6Respecting architectural character with replacement windows
45 times cited
DC8Heritage and conservation: Buildings at risk
39 times cited
CC3Flood Risk Assessment Requirement
29 times cited
CC4Minimising surface water run-off with Sustainable Drainage Systems
28 times cited
CC11Noise and Vibration Control for Developments
23 times cited
Which policies this officer leans on is subscriber intelligenceSubscribe to unlock →
Decisions by ward

Where this officer's caseload concentrates, 2021–23.[1] Click the map above to focus this page on a ward, or a row to open the ward.

Recent applications
Address
Reference
Type
Outcome
Date
2023/01712/FUL
Full Planning Application
Refused
2024-07-25
2021/03495/FUL
Full Planning Application
Refused
2024-07-24
2023/01712/FUL
Full Planning Application
Refused
2024-07-25
2021/03495/FUL
Full Planning Application
Refused
2024-07-24
Full application history locked
Subscribe to see all 127 decisions →
Consultants approved most— subscriber data
1. Mr - Stern / SAM Planning services
2. Mr Oliver Trevatt / Baily Garner LLP
3. Mr Felix Padfield / felix db limited
4. Mr Jeremy Bailey / Jeremy Bailey Architects Limited
At a glance
OfficerAisling Merriman
RolePlanning officer
Experience
Applications127 (2021–23)
Approval rate93%
London approval avg81%
Who decides here
GovernmentMayor of LondonCouncilCommitteeOfficersDecisionsApplicantsInspectorate
Related investigations
When committees overrule officers like this one →
How often members depart from officer recommendations, and how those overrides fare at appeal.
How much gets decided without a committee →
The delegated share by borough and officer — where the real power over decisions sits.
Sources & method
  1. [1]Applications decided, approval rate, per-year trend and ward breakdown — London Borough of Hammersmith And Fulham planning register and published decision notices, 2021–23. · methodology
  2. [2]Appeal overturn and decision-time benchmarks — Planning Inspectorate (PINS) appeal decisions and application date pairs; not yet computed per officer, shown as a dash until they are. · PINS appeals casework
  3. [3]Condition load — mean effective conditions attached to Hammersmith And Fulham decision notices (grant/split), parsed from the published notice text; a borough figure, not yet split per case officer.
  4. [4]"How this officer decides", the policy playbook and all quotes — parsed from 62 published Hammersmith And Fulham officer reports written by this officer, recited policy boilerplate stripped before counting; disposition text coded from their own reasoning with every quote machine-verified verbatim. Descriptive of how they work — not outcome predictions.
Methodology is published in full so every number is traceable to its primary source.