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Planning permission granted15 January 20243266272

Hurworth Views, Neasham Road, Darlington, DL2 1QH

Planning appeal 3266272 at Hurworth Views, Neasham Road, Darlington, DL2 1QH (Darlington Borough Council) was allowed on 15 January 2024 by Inspector Harbottle M, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the private Gypsy, Traveller site is sustainably located in terms of access to services.

Without planning permission, (1) 4 touring caravans have been stationed on the land for residential use (2 of them being very recently occupied for that purpose) and that together with the works referred to at (2) and (3) below this constitutes an unauthorised change of use of the land from paddock land to a new private Gypsy, Traveller site; (2) the making of an unauthorised site access onto the land from Neasham Road; and (3) the laying of hardcore materials on the land to form an access road and hard standing, removal of hedgerow, the erection of fencing, gates and dog kennels and the installation of services for power and drainage of utility buildings (the works)

Authority
Darlington Borough Council
Appeal type
enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure
Hearing
Development
caravan-gypsy · Major traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector
Harbottle M
Postcode
DL2 1QH

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • Whether the private Gypsy, Traveller site is sustainably located in terms of access to services.
  • The effect on the character of the rural area.
  • The effect on highway safety.
  • The effect on ecology, including nutrient neutrality.
  • The living conditions of occupiers, particularly with regard to the potential for ground gas migration and contamination from infilled material.
  • The need for and supply of Gypsy and Traveller pitches in Darlington.
  • The personal circumstances of the appellants and their dependants.

What decided it

Appeal A succeeded because the harms identified (character, highway safety, ecology, contamination) were all capable of mitigation by condition and were outweighed by the sustainable location, pitch shortfall and appellants' personal circumstances, whereas Appeal B failed because it was not brought on ground (a) and its ground (c) case that no breach of planning control occurred was not made out.

The benefits of meeting Gypsy and Traveller accommodation need and the appellants' personal circumstances, combined with mitigable effects on character, highway safety, ecology and contamination, outweighed any residual concerns and justified granting permission in Appeal A.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy SH 1Policy ENV 4Policy H 9Policy IN 2Policy ENV 3Policy DC 1Policy ENV 7Policy ENV 8Policy DC 4
Judgments
Tapecrown Ltd v FSS & the Vale of White Horse DC [2006] EWCA Civ 1744; Ardagh Glass v Chester CC & Quinn Glass [2009] EWHC 745 (Admin)

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 Darlington

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2024

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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.

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.