Firsby Hall Farm Cottage, Firsby Lane, Hooton Roberts, Rotherham, DN12 2BB

demolition of small barn and greenhouse and conversion of existing double barn to form a single dwelling

Authority: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: McDonagh C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt
Whether the appeal site represents a suitable location for housing
Whether the proposal would provide safe and suitable vehicular access
The effects of the proposal on protected species
If the proposal is inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it

What decided it

The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt with no very special circumstances to justify it, compounded by unsustainable location, inadequate access, and unresolved protected species concerns.

Framework references: 150, 147, 148, 110, 112, 180

Plan policies cited: CS14, CS4, SP2, SP5, SP33, SP34

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.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

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