Planning appeal decision
Lower Bell Riding School, Back Lane, Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, ME17 4JR
Planning appeal 3266845 at Lower Bell Riding School, Back Lane, Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, ME17 4JR (Maidstone Borough Council) was dismissed on 4 June 2021 by Inspector Miles H, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area.
removal of existing site structures and erection of 3 dwellings with accompanying parking and landscaping
- Authority
- Maidstone Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Miles H
- Postcode
- ME17 4JR
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- The suitability of the site for housing with particular regard to accessibility by sustainable modes and environmental improvements
What decided it
The substantial and permanent harm to the character and appearance of the area through the introduction of an urban developed appearance to a countryside location, combined with poor accessibility by sustainable transport modes, outweighed the modest benefits of the proposal.
The modest benefits of three new homes, housing supply, local economic support and reduced traffic compared to the existing use were outweighed by the considerable environmental harms to character and appearance and poor accessibility by sustainable modes, with no engagement of the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SS1Policy SP17Policy DM1Policy DM30Policy DM5
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 78Paragraph 103Paragraph 104Paragraph 11
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 appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision


More decisions in Maidstone Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2021
- Dismissed29 October 2026601053621 Tasker Close, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME15 8NZ
- Allowed27 October 20266015190Little Southernden, Southernden Road, Headcorn, TN27 9LL
- Allowed27 October 20266011721Loxley House, Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, Maidstone, ME17 3NT
- Allowed27 October 20266011076Little Southernden, Southernden Road, Headcorn, TN27 9LL
- Allowed26 October 20266010539Land Rear Of 58 Church Street, Boughton Monchelsea, Maidstone, ME17 4HN
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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