®Planning appeal decision
Black Barns, Church Road, Hockley, SS5 6AE
Planning appeal 3268802 at Black Barns, Church Road, Hockley, SS5 6AE (Rochford District Council) was dismissed on 29 June 2021 by Inspector Pannell G, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including its effects on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land in it.
Retention and alterations to building to form 12 no. stables together with tack room; mess area; feed store; hay and bedding storage and machinery store all ancillary to existing use of the site for keeping of horses, use of all weather arena for private and group horse riding lessons and horse exercise
- Authority
- Rochford District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- leisure-sport · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Pannell G
- Postcode
- SS5 6AE
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including its effects on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land in it
- If the development is inappropriate, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development
What decided it
The proposal fails to preserve the openness of the Green Belt and does not constitute appropriate development under any exception in the Framework, and the other considerations do not clearly outweigh the substantial harm to the Green Belt required to demonstrate very special circumstances.
The substantial weight given to harm to the Green Belt (moderate spatial harm and limited visual harm to openness) was not outweighed by the limited weight attributed to equestrian employment benefits, recreational benefits, and modest weight to other policy compliance aspects.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy GB1Policy GB2Policy DM15
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 134Paragraph 143Paragraph 144Paragraph 145Paragraph 146
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 Rochford
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2021
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- Allowed9 July 202660048639 College Gardens, Rochford, SS4 1YL
- Dismissed4 June 20266006133The Barns, Blounts Farm, Murrels Lane, SS5 6AB
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.