®Planning appeal decision
Land at Lovington Lane, Lovington, Castle Cary, Somerset, BA7 7PY
erection of 9 dwellings and associated infrastructure works
- Authority
- South Somerset District Council *
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Porter H
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- The effect of the proposed development on the settings and significance of designated and non-designated heritage assets
- The effect of the proposed development on the nutrient levels in the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site
What decided it
The failure to preserve the settings of two listed buildings and the unresolved phosphate mitigation for the Ramsar site provided clear reasons for refusal that engaged Framework protections, preventing the tilted balance from applying despite the housing land supply shortfall.
The significant benefit of delivering 9 dwellings in a context of less than five-year housing land supply was outweighed by the less than substantial but middle-scale harm to listed building settings, the statutory duty to preserve those settings, and the unresolved adverse effects on the Ramsar site; the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits.
Framework references: 11, 130, 180, 202
Plan policies cited: Policy SS2, Policy EQ2, Policy EQ3, Policy EQ4, Policy EQ7
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.