Land Adjacent The Old Forge And Thornley Cottage, Burnham Road, Althorne, CM3 6DP

construction of a dwelling and cartlodge

Authority: Maldon District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Spencer D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed dwelling on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
Whether the appeal proposal would contribute to a sustainable pattern of housing development in the District

What decided it

The appeal proposal would conflict with the adopted development plan's spatial strategy by locating new housing in an unsustainably located small rural village with limited services and poor connectivity, and this harm significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits despite the marginal shortfall in five-year housing land supply.

The modest social and environmental benefits of the proposal (no significant harm to character and appearance, effective use of vacant land, and modest housing contribution) were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the significant harm arising from conflict with the spatial strategy of MDLDP Policies S1, S2 and S8, which aims to locate development sustainably and limit the need to travel.

Framework references: 11, 78, 79, 80, 105, 130, 174

Plan policies cited: Policy D1, Policy H4, Policy S1, Policy S2, Policy S8

Judgments cited: Braintree District Council v. SSCLG, Greyread Ltd and Granville Developments [2018] EWCA Civ 610

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.