®Planning appeal decision
Development Site South of 1 & 2 Orwell Spike, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4PB
Planning appeal 3279132 at Development Site South of 1 & 2 Orwell Spike, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4PB (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council) was allowed on 8 September 2022 by Inspector MacLeod R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposed development would make adequate provision for affordable housing, enhancement of public open space and contributions towards infrastructure requirements having regard to relevant planning policies and the proposal's viability.
construction of 9 detached dwellings, together with associated access, landscaping and drainage works
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- MacLeod R
- Postcode
- ME19 4PB
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposed development would make adequate provision for affordable housing, enhancement of public open space and contributions towards infrastructure requirements having regard to relevant planning policies and the proposal's viability
What decided it
The Council's poor housing supply position (2.2 years) combined with the Financial Viability Assessment demonstrating that the scheme would not be viable with full policy contributions meant that the benefits of housing delivery and land remediation outweighed the failure to meet all policy requirements.
The social benefit of providing 9 new homes in a sustainable location, the environmental benefit of remediating contaminated land, economic benefits from construction and increased expenditure, and the £45,000 contribution towards affordable housing outweighed the harm of not providing on-site affordable housing, no contributions towards public open space enhancement, and no contributions towards infrastructure improvements, when assessed against the Framework taken as a whole under the tilted balance.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CP17Policy CP25Policy OS3
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 64Paragraph 63Paragraph 60Paragraph 58
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Tonbridge and Malling
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2022
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- Dismissed5 August 20253353979Ryarsh Place Farm, Birling Road, Ryarsh, Kent, ME19 5LS
- Allowed2 April 20253353896Land Opposite Grange Road at, Maidstone Road, Sevenoaks, Kent
- Dismissed24 February 20253345353182-186 Tonbridge Road, Wateringbury, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 5NS
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.