®Planning appeal decision
Elm Farm Country Park, Frinton Road, Thorpe Le Soken, Essex, CO16 0JE
Planning appeal 3280842 at Elm Farm Country Park, Frinton Road, Thorpe Le Soken, Essex, CO16 0JE (Tendring District Council) was dismissed on 18 May 2022 by Inspector Shrimplin R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposed relaxation of the existing restrictive conditions would harm the tourism industry in the locality, in the light of Policies in the Development Plan.
Relaxation of conditions to permit permanent residential occupation of 76 caravans (44 existing reconfigured plus 32 additional) for those over 50 years of age, with internal roadways, hardstanding pitches, services, ancillary buildings, play areas and landscaping
- Authority
- Tendring District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
- Inspector
- Shrimplin R
- Postcode
- CO16 0JE
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposed relaxation of the existing restrictive conditions would harm the tourism industry in the locality, in the light of Policies in the Development Plan
- Whether the proposals would benefit the provision of housing in the locality (especially affordable housing)
- Whether the proposals would make adequate provision for affordable housing, for mitigation of recreational disturbance effects on the Essex Coast, and for improvement of local public open space
What decided it
The proposal's conflict with Policy PP11, which protects safeguarded holiday park sites against redevelopment for alternative uses, could not be outweighed by the housing and affordable housing benefits in circumstances where the Council had demonstrated more than five years' housing land supply.
The harm to the tourism industry from converting a safeguarded holiday park site to permanent residential use outweighed the benefits of housing provision and affordable housing, particularly given the Council's adequate housing land supply
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SPL1Policy SPL2Policy PP11Policy LP5Policy HG4Policy PPL4Policy EN6Policy EN11aSaved Local Plan Policy COM6
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 2Paragraph 47Paragraph 5
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
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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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.