Orchard Kennels, Meresborough Road, Rainham, ME8 8QJ

for up to 66 residential dwellings with associated parking and landscaped areas

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Davies N

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development upon the landscape character and appearance of the countryside, Mierscourt/Meresborough Area of Local Landscape Importance (ALLI) and the Public Right of Way (PROW)
The effect of the proposed development upon the highway network

What decided it

The significant harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, the valued Mierscourt/Meresborough ALLI landscape and the PROW outweighed the housing and other benefits of the scheme.

the significant harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, ALLI and PROW was not outweighed by the significant benefit of housing delivery or the moderate social, economic and environmental benefits of the scheme

Framework references: 11, 92, 100, 111, 174, 177

Plan policies cited: Policy T2, Policy BNE25, Policy BNE34, Policy S4, Policy BNE6, Policy L10, Policy T1

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.