Land at East Hill, Chatham, Kent, ME7 3JL

an outline application (with all matters reserved except access) for the erection of up to 800 dwellings with primary school, supporting retail space of up to 150 square metres and local GP surgery, with associated road link between North Dane Way and Pear Tree Lane and other road infrastructure, open space and landscaping

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Hartley D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area including the Area of Local Landscape Importance (ALLI), landscape character and the setting of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Capstone Farm Country Park (CFCP) and public footpaths, and whether the proposal would be incongruous within a countryside setting
if paragraph 11(d) of the Framework is engaged, whether any identified adverse impacts of the development would significantly and demonstrably outweigh any identified benefits when assessed against policies in the Framework taken as a whole

What decided it

The very substantial weight attributed to the delivery of a significant number of market and affordable homes, in the context of an acute five-year housing land supply shortfall and failed Housing Delivery Test, outweighed the limited landscape, countryside and other harms identified.

the very substantial benefits of housing delivery (including affordable housing), economic and community benefits and biodiversity gain were not significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the identified adverse impacts, including limited landscape harm and conflict with the development plan as a whole, so the balance tipped in favour of allowing the appeal

Framework references: 11, 48, 56, 77, 80, 85, 87, 92, 93, 98, 99, 100, 102, 105, 111, 112, 120, 130, 154, 167, 169, 174, 176, 180, 181, 182, 185, 186

Plan policies cited: S1, S2, BNE1, BNE2, BNE3, BNE6, BNE8, BNE21, BNE23, BNE24, BNE25, BNE31, BNE33, BNE34, BNE35, BNE37, L4, L9, L10, R13, T1, T2, T3, T13, T14, H3, CF14

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.