®Planning appeal decision
Land at Gore Farm, Chaffes Lane, Upchurch, Kent, ME9 7BE
change of use of land from agricultural to residential and the erection of two C3 dwellinghouses
- Authority
- Swale Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Bowyer J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the development would be a suitable location for housing having regard to relevant local and national policy, including: (i) the position of the site within the countryside and its accessibility to services and facilities; (ii) the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area; and (iii) the effect of the proposal on best and most versatile agricultural land
What decided it
The absence of a 5-year housing supply triggered the tilted balance test under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework, and the modest adverse impacts of the proposal did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing additional dwellings to address the housing supply deficit.
The modest adverse impacts comprising harm to landscape, character and appearance, loss of agricultural land, and reliance on private vehicles were outweighed by the significant benefit of providing 2 additional dwellings to address the housing supply deficit, supported by the presumption in favour of sustainable development and the Framework's objective to boost housing supply from a variety of sites
Framework references: 11, 56
Plan policies cited: Policy ST 3, Policy ST 5, Policy ST 1, Policy CP 3, Policy DM 31, Policy DM 3
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.