Land at Station Road, Ashwell, SG7 5LT

residential development of 28 no. dwellings and landscaping including ponds, wildflower meadow and woodland

Authority: North Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Cooper W

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The housing land supply shortfall of 3.5 years engaged the tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11, and the substantial benefits of housing delivery and mix outweighed the moderate harm to character and appearance.

The moderate harm to character and appearance would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the substantial totality of planning benefits (28 dwellings including 11 affordable units, housing mix, socio-economic benefits, and new green space) when assessed against the policies of the Framework as a whole, with the tilted balance engaged due to housing land supply shortfall.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 6 (saved North Hertfordshire District Local Plan), Policy CBG1 (proposed North Hertfordshire Local Plan), Policy D1 (proposed North Hertfordshire Local 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.

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.