®Planning appeal decision
Woodlands Farm, Stapleford Road, Stapleford Abbotts, Essex, RM4 1EJ
3no. two storey, four bedroom dwellings and access
- Authority
- Epping Forest District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Wallis D
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal is inappropriate development for the purposes of development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework
- if the development is inappropriate, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to very special circumstances necessary to justify the development
- the effect of the development upon the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
What decided it
The proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt by extending built form into the countryside rather than constituting infill, and no very special circumstances were demonstrated to justify departure from Green Belt policy.
The tilted balance was not engaged because the policies of the Framework in relation to Green Belt land and protection of the natural environment provided clear reasons for refusal, notwithstanding the lack of a five-year housing land supply.
Framework references: 11, 138, 149
Plan policies cited: GB2a, GB7a, SP6, DM4, CP1, CP6, NC1
Judgments cited: Court of Justice of the European Union 2018 ruling on European Sites
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.