Knapp Hill Farm , Bath Road, WELLS, BA5 3LN

Proposed DP22 application for the conversion and change of use including a small extension of a redundant agricultural building into a 2 bedroom residence

Authority: Mendip District Council *
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: O'Brien L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site with particular regard to the discharge of phosphates

What decided it

The proposal would cause harm to the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site through additional phosphate discharge, and the Habitats Regulations require that planning permission must not be granted where adverse effects on the integrity of a European site would occur without imperative reasons of overriding public interest.

Plan policies cited: Policy DP5, Policy DP8

Judgments cited: Coöperatie Mobilisation for the Environment UA and Others v College van gedeputeerde staten van Limburg and Others (Joined Cases C-293/17 and C-294/17)

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.

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