Wealden Butcherfield Lane, HARTFIELD, TN7 4LB

erection of detached dwelling and garage

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Lock H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the appeal site would be in a suitable location for a dwelling, having regard to the accessibility of services and facilities

What decided it

The site's remoteness from services, facilities and sustainable transport options, combined with its location as part of scattered countryside development rather than a recognisable settlement, means the proposal would not be in the right place and would conflict with the aim to create safe places with accessible services.

The housing supply shortfall weighed heavily in favour of the grant of planning permission, but the adverse impacts of granting permission—the unsustainable location and conflict with accessibility objectives—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits of the small contribution to housing supply.

Framework references: 176, 80, 130, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy EN6, Policy GD2, Policy DC17, Policy WCS6, Policy SP07, Policy EN1, Policy SP01, Policy WSC14

Judgments cited: Braintree District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Ors [2018] EWCA Civ 610

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.