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Allowed23 September 20213259161

Chelford House , Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, AL5 4UN

Planning appeal 3259161 at Chelford House , Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, AL5 4UN (St Albans City Council) was allowed on 23 September 2021 by Inspector Parsons J, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether or not a non-B class use would be justified for the appeal premises.

the redevelopment including the demolition of the former Chelford House to a 63-bed care home (C2 Use Class), with amendments to access, parking, amenity space and associated infrastructure

Authority
St Albans City Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Hearing
Development
community-institutional · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Parsons J
Postcode
AL5 4UN

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • Whether or not a non-B class use would be justified for the appeal premises
  • The living conditions of the residents of the care home, having regard to outside amenity space provision, outlook, noise and disturbance
  • The viability of neighbouring employment uses
  • Whether adequate capacity exists for public utility connections

What decided it

The urgent and significant unmet need for care home/elderly housing provision, combined with the Council's inability to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply, outweighed the conflict with local employment protection policies.

The significant benefits of housing and elderly care provision, economic and employment benefits, and the reduced weight attached to conflict with employment policies outweighed the loss of the employment site, with the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d)(ii) applied and adverse impacts not significantly and demonstrably outweighing the benefits.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
LP Policy 20NP Policy ER2LP Policy 69LP Policy 70NP Policy SI11LP Policy 143BNP Policy T3LP Policy 7NP Policy H6LP Policy 62NP Policy H8
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 187Paragraph 81Paragraph 60Paragraph 11Paragraph 57

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

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More decisions in St Albans City Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2021

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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.

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