®Planning appeal decision
Land at former Swallowfields Nursery, Church Road, Mannings Heath, West Sussex, RH13 6HY
erection of 9 dwellings, car-ports and garages, landscaping and associated works including access improvements previously consented under planning ref: DC/17/1158, to widen the access junction with Church Road and create a passing area
- Authority
- Horsham District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Edwards J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the development on the integrity of the Arun Valley Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site
- the effect on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The fallback position provided by the approved 7-dwelling development that had already commenced on site, combined with the appellant's demonstration of water neutrality compared to that baseline through water efficiency measures and rainwater harvesting, allowed the appeal to succeed on the habitat sites issue, and the careful design and screening of the additional dwellings meant the character and appearance issue was also resolved.
The benefits of housing delivery and the contribution to supply shortfall were weighed against the concerns raised regarding habitat sites and character, with the former outweighing the latter once the habitat sites issue was resolved through water neutrality measures and the character concerns were addressed through design and screening.
Plan policies cited: Policy 31, Policy 32, Policy 33, Policy 37, Horsham District Planning Framework 2015, Nuthurst Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2015 Policy 2, Nuthurst Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2015 Policy 10
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.