Town Planner Pro
Free trial
Search appeal decisions

Planning appeal decision

Notice varied and upheld20 December 20223223506

Land Known As Herwish, Martens Lane, High Halden, Ashford, Kent, TN26 3JP

Planning appeal 3223506 at Land Known As Herwish, Martens Lane, High Halden, Ashford, Kent, TN26 3JP (Ashford Borough Council) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 20 December 2022 by Inspector Murray J, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the countryside.

described in the application as 2x mobile homes, 2x utility blocks, 2x caravans and parking for 4 cars

Authority
Ashford Borough Council
Appeal type
enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure
Hearing
Development
caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector
Murray J
Postcode
TN26 3JP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the countryside
  • whether the occupiers of the site are gypsies and travellers as properly defined
  • whether any harm to the character and appearance of the countryside is outweighed by other considerations including the personal circumstances of the occupiers, having regard to their Human Rights and the best interests of any children

What decided it

The cumulative weight of the occupiers' personal circumstances (health and education needs), the lack of alternative accommodation, and the long-standing unmet need for gypsy and traveller sites outweighed the identified landscape harm.

the substantial weight of the occupiers' personal circumstances, the absence of a 5-year supply of gypsy and traveller sites, and Article 8 rights outweighed the harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, tipping the 'fine balance' identified in 2009 in favour of a permanent permission

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy SP1Policy SP6Policy ENV3aPolicy HOU16
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 174
Judgments
Murfitt v SSE [1980] JPL 598; Lisa Smith v SSLUHC [2022] EWCA Civ 1391

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.

Appeals plan, £15 a month

With an account

What an account adds to this decision

10 other decided appeals within two kilometres of this site. In the app every dot opens its decision, and its letter wherever one was published, and you can draw your own site to see what has been decided around it.AllowedDismissedSplitThis decision
An appeal decision in the app, with the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out beside the letter
Every letter, there to read. We pick out the main issues, the policies and the judgments cited, so you can work through the letter faster.
Searching the full text of appeal decision letters in the app
Search inside every letter. By words or by meaning, filtered by authority, outcome, appeal type and procedure, with every locatable decision on the map and the Inspector named on each.
Start your free trial

More decisions in Ashford Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2022

  1. Allowed26 March 20263361039
    Land North of The Meads, Huntstreet, Crundale, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7EL
  2. Notice upheld6 March 20263335089
    Mai Barn, Romden Road, Smarden, Ashford, TN27 8QZ
  3. Quashed On Legal Grounds10 November 20253308959
    Part of the Barn/Shed Building at The Paddock, Magpie Hall Road, Stubbs Cross, Ashford, Kent, TN26 1HF
  4. Notice upheld4 June 20253352530
    Elvey Cottage, Westwell, Ashford, TN25 4JP
  5. Notice varied and upheld21 May 20253358367
    Little Paddock Farm, Canterbury Road, Challock, Ashford, TN25 4DW

The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.