®Planning appeal decision
Rockley House Wrotham Road, Culverstone, GRAVESEND, DA13 0QN
the ‘conversion of existing garages and stores to a 2 bedroom single storey dwelling including new rooflights and fenestration changes. New vehicle access and driveway
- Authority
- Gravesham Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Brownless E
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
- the effect on the openness of the Green Belt
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area with particular regard to the Meopham Downs Landscape Area
- the effect of the proposed development on highway safety
- would the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, be clearly outweighed by other considerations, and if so would this amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt with significant harm to openness and the purposes of Green Belt designation, combined with substantial harm to landscape character from hedgerow loss and unresolved highway safety concerns, which together are not clearly outweighed by the benefit of one additional dwelling.
The significant benefit of providing one additional dwelling to address the Council's housing land supply shortfall was outweighed by the substantial harm to the Green Belt (inappropriateness and loss of openness), considerable harm to character and appearance through hedgerow loss in the Meopham Downs Landscape Character Area, and highway safety concerns, such that very special circumstances do not exist to justify the development.
Framework references: 11, 148, 149, 150
Plan policies cited: Policy CS02, Policy CS11, Policy CS12, Policy CS19, Policy T1, Policy T5
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.