Bexhurst Oast, Merriments Lane, Hurst Green, ETCHINGHAM, TN19 7RA

a garden room extension

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: householder · Householder (HAS)
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Reed D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the existing oasthouse building and its significance in the countryside within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

What decided it

The proposal would significantly harm the character and appearance of the oasthouse as a traditional vernacular farm building and erode its significance within the High Weald AONB, conflicting with development plan policies.

The material considerations of additional living accommodation for the property and the absence of local objections were not sufficient to outweigh the significant harm to the character and appearance of the oasthouse and conflict with the development plan.

Plan policies cited: Policy EN1, Policy EN3, Policy OSS4iii, Policy RA3iv, Policy RA3v, Policy RA4ii, Policy RA4iii, Policy DHG9ii, Policy DHG9v, Policy DHG9vi, Policy DEN1, Policy DEN2

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.