Birchfield Nursery, Kidders Lane, Henfield, BN5 9AB

change in use of the premises to mixed-use purposes for Use Classes B8, E and as a base for a garden design and landscaping business

Authority: Horsham District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Wood T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is in an appropriate location for the proposed use
The effects on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The proposal would constitute an inappropriate use in the countryside that would fail to protect the rural character and development pattern of the area, contrary to the development plan policies, with no benefits sufficient to outweigh this harm.

Plan policies cited: Policy 2, Policy 10, Policy 25, Policy 26, Policy 3.2 of the Henfield Neighbourhood Plan

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.

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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.
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