North Fen Farm, Warners Drove, Somersham, PE28 3WD

application for outline planning permission with all matters reserved for a permanent farm manager's dwelling to supervise an agricultural enterprise

Authority: Huntingdonshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: agricultural · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Walker R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether there is an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at their place of work
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
Whether the site represents an appropriate location for the proposed development with regards to its flood zone location

What decided it

The failure to demonstrate an essential functional need for a rural worker to live permanently on site, which also undermined the flood risk Sequential Test justification.

the proposal conflicts with the development plan and there are no material considerations that outweigh that conflict, so the appeal is dismissed

Framework references: 80, 130, 174, 162

Plan policies cited: Policy LP2, Policy LP10, Policy LP20, Policy LP12, Policy LP5

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.

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