Plot Opposite 1 Harrow Court, Stockbury, Kent, ME9 7UQ

a new 2 bedroom bungalow on vacant ground

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Glassar S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether or not the appeal site is an acceptable location for the development proposed, with specific regard to access to services
The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

What decided it

The proposal conflicts with the development plan by locating a dwelling in an unsustainable location requiring car dependency and by causing harm to the character and appearance of the AONB, which cannot be outweighed by the limited benefits of a single dwelling in an area with demonstrable 5-year housing supply.

The benefits of providing one additional dwelling and efficient use of land, to which limited weight could be attached given the Council's 5-year housing supply, were outweighed by the substantial harm to character and appearance of the AONB and the conflict with the development plan requiring sustainable locations for new housing

Framework references: 176

Plan policies cited: Policy SS1, Policy SP17, Policy DM1, Policy DM30

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.