®Planning appeal decision
Blackbrook Nursery, Newcastle Road, Blackbrook, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5EH
change of use of land to mixed use for the stabling/keeping of horses and as a residential caravan site for 4 gypsy families, together with the erection of a stable building, erection of 4 no amenity buildings and laying of hardstanding
- Authority
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Change of use
- Inspector
- Mahoney F
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the countryside
- whether the proposed location of the gypsy caravan site would represent a suitable location in respect of accessibility for pedestrians and offers a real choice to residents in respect of sustainable modes of transport
- whether any identified harms would be outweighed by other considerations, including the general need for, and provision of sites, the availability of alternatives, and the personal circumstances of the appellants and their families, so as to justify the development
What decided it
The substantial weight attached to the unmet need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches, the lack of any alternative accommodation, and the best interests of the appellants' children outweighed the identified landscape and sustainability harms.
the significant landscape and sustainability harms were outweighed by the substantial weight of the unmet need for gypsy pitches, absence of alternative sites, and the personal circumstances of the appellants and their children, tipping the balance in favour of a permanent permission
Framework references: 174
Plan policies cited: Policy N20, Policy DC2, Policy CSP7
Judgments cited: Sedgemoor District Council and Marie Hughes & ORS (Case No: HQ11X03539); Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council v First Secretary of State and Angela Smith (Case No: CO/3346/2006); South Cambridgeshire District Council v Secretary of State [2008] EWCA Civ 1010; Chapman v United Kingdom (2001) 33 E.H.R.R.18
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.