Stevington Riding Club, Dane Hill Farm, Silver Street, Stevington, Bedfordshire, MK43 7QP

use of land for the stationing of caravans for the residential purposes for a single Gypsy Pitch

Authority: Bedford Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: caravan-gypsy · Major traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector: Pannell G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether or not the appeal site is a suitable location for the proposed pitch with reference to the spatial strategy in the development plan and the accessibility of services and facilities.

What decided it

The site's proximity to Bedford and a classified road meant it provided adequate, if car-reliant, access to services and facilities, satisfying Policy 63 of the Local Plan.

The proposal accorded with the development plan as a whole and no other material considerations indicated a decision contrary to the plan, so the appeal was allowed.

Framework references: 105

Plan policies cited: Policy 3S, Policy 4S, Policy 7S, Policy 63, Policy HO1, Policy HO2, Policy DH1, Policy EN1

Judgments cited: Smith v SSLUHC & Ors [2022] EWCA

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.