Pilgrims, Pilgrims Lane, Chilham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 8AA

the erection of detached 4-5 bedroom live-work dwelling and detached double-garage (with all matters reserved)

Authority: Ashford Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Smith D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location having regard to relevant development plan policies

What decided it

The proposal's failure to comply with Policy HOU5 criteria b) and d) because the site is not within easy walking distance of basic day-to-day services and is not located where it is possible to maximise the use of public transport, cycling and walking.

The adverse impacts of the proposal, particularly the conflict with the development plan's spatial strategy and lack of sustainable location, significantly and demonstrably outweigh the modest benefits of housing delivery in a borough with a below-target housing supply.

Framework references: 11, 80

Plan policies cited: Policy SP1, Policy SP2, Policy HOU5

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.

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