®Planning appeal decision
Southview , Hockenden Lane, SWANLEY, BR8 7QH
for change of use of land to a residential caravan site for one Romani family. The site to contain one static caravan, one touring caravan, parking for 2 cars with associated hardstanding, and infrastructure
- Authority
- London Borough of Bromley
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Major general industry/storage/warehousing
- Inspector
- Orr H
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the operational development on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within it
- Effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
- Whether the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the grant of planning permission
What decided it
The identified Green Belt and character/appearance harm was not clearly outweighed by the unmet need and personal circumstances so as to justify permanent permission, but unresolved uncertainty over the Council's need evidence justified a temporary three-year permission instead of dismissal.
The substantial weight attributed to Green Belt harm by reason of inappropriateness, combined with moderate harm to openness and character, was not clearly outweighed by the unmet need for pitches and the personal circumstances/best interests of the children, so very special circumstances for permanent permission were not established; however, these considerations combined with unresolved evidence on need justified a temporary three-year permission.
Framework references: 137, 147, 148
Plan policies cited: Policy 49, Policy G2, Policy 12
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.