Former Timber Yard, Rabbit Lane, Gressingham Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 8LP

an outline application for the erection of a pair of holiday cottages including siting and access

Authority: Lancaster City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Manchester S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
Whether or not the location is suitable for new residential development, having regard to local and national policies for rural development
The effect of the proposal on surface water flooding

What decided it

The unsuitability of the remote location for new residential development combined with the moderate harm to rural character and appearance, neither of which was outweighed by the limited economic benefits to the farm business or local economy.

The conflict with the development plan's locational strategy, rural development and sustainable transport aims, and the moderate harm to character and appearance, were not outweighed by the limited financial contribution to the appellant's farming business or local economy.

Plan policies cited: Policy DM46, Policy DM1, Policy DM23, Policy DM47, Policy DM48, Policy DM49, Policy DM60, Policy DM34, Policy DM36

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.