Land to the Rear of 44A, 44B & 44C Lybury Lane, Redbourn, AL3 7HY

a two-bedroom detached bungalow

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Other minor developments
Inspector: Fallon R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
the effect of the development on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers at No 42 Lybury Lane, with particular regard to visual impact

What decided it

The harmful impact on the character and appearance of the area caused by the cramped backland nature of the development and its poor design quality, combined with the visual intrusion and oppressive effect on neighbouring living conditions, outweighed the limited benefits of delivering one additional dwelling despite the Council's housing land supply shortfall.

The benefits of housing delivery and brownfield reuse, given limited weight due to the small scale of the development, were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the adverse impacts on character, appearance and neighbouring living conditions when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole.

Framework references: 219, 130, 134, 120, 69, 124, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 69, Policy 70

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.