®Planning appeal decision
Land to the East of Highgate Hill and South of Copthall Avenue, Hawkhurst, Kent, TR18 4LR
development of the site to provide 71 dwellings, alongside car parking, cycle parking, sustainable drainage, internal road network, public open space and associated landscaping and including the demolition of existing agricultural barn and garage and alterations to the existing access from Highgate Hill
- Authority
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Manning J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, including the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
- the effect of the proposal on heritage assets
- whether the scheme would result in harm to highway safety
- the extent of the Council's shortfall in respect of five-year housing land supply
- whether exceptional circumstances exist to warrant development in the AONB and whether it is in the public interest
What decided it
The substantial unmet need for market and affordable housing, combined with the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, outweighed the moderate AONB landscape harm and low-level heritage harm.
The benefits of meeting a substantial market and affordable housing need, together with biodiversity net gain and recreational enhancements, outweighed the moderate (reducing to moderate-to-low) landscape/AONB harm and the low-end less than substantial heritage harm, such that exceptional circumstances existed and the scheme was in the public interest under paragraph 177 of the NPPF.
Framework references: 11, 56, 176, 177, 202
Plan policies cited: Policy EN25, Core Policy 4, Core Policy 14, Policy LP2, Core Policy 3, Policy AM1, Core Policy 6, Policy HD2, Policy HD3, Policy HD1(a), Policy HD1(b), Policy EN9
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.