Oak Lodge Farm, Leighams Road, Bicknacre, CHELMSFORD, CM3 4HF

demolition of existing building and erection of dwelling

Authority: Chelmsford Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Chalk M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether appeal proposal accords with the local plan policy regarding replacement buildings
Whether the appeal site is in a suitable location, having regard to local and national policies concerning rural housing
The effect of the development on European Designated Sites

What decided it

The existence of the Class Q consent as a fallback position, which would allow conversion of the existing building to a dwelling and subsequently permit replacement without policy conflict, carried great weight that outweighed the conflict with the development plan.

The fallback position of Class Q conversion rights carried great weight that outweighed the harm arising from conflict with Policy DM8 and the unsuitability of the location for rural housing.

Plan policies cited: Policy DM8, Policy S7, Policy DM16

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.