Land Adjacent 1 Watford Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, Al1 2AA

the erection of 4 apartments with associated landscaping and parking

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Sargent J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development would fail to preserve the settings of adjacent listed buildings and whether it would fail to preserve the character or appearance of the St Albans Conservation Area, causing harm to the significance of these assets
Whether it has been shown the scheme would not harm any archaeological remains on the site

What decided it

The less than substantial harm to the significance of the conservation area, St Stephen's House, the Barn, and potential archaeological remains could not be outweighed by the public benefits of housing delivery and economic benefits, particularly given that heritage assets are an irreplaceable resource.

The less than substantial harm to the conservation area, listed buildings and archaeological remains was weighed against the public benefits of housing delivery in a sustainable location and economic benefits; the harm outweighed the benefits.

Framework references: 219, 202, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 69, Policy 70, Policy 74, Policy 85, Policy 86

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.