®Planning appeal decision
Station Road, Stalbridge, Dorset, DT10 2RJ
Outline planning application for the erection of up to 130 dwellings including affordable housing with public open space, structural planting and landscaping and sustainable drainage system (SuDS) with vehicular access point from Station Road. All matters reserved except for means of vehicular access
- Authority
- Dorset
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Dawe A
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed development in terms of the Council's spatial strategy, with particular regard to housing distribution and location and sustainable travel, having regard to local and national policy
- the effect of the proposed development on the landscape character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to that relating to the countryside comprising the site and surrounding area and the setting of the existing settlement of Stalbridge
- the existing housing need and land supply position at local and strategic level
What decided it
The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply (4.35 years), which engaged the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework and meant the moderate identified harms did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the housing scheme.
The significant benefits of delivering up to 130 dwellings (including 40% affordable housing) and economic benefits outweighed the moderate harms to the Council's spatial strategy and to landscape character, such that under the tilted balance the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
Framework references: 174, 11, 65
Plan policies cited: Policy 2, Policy 4, Policy 6, Policy 7, Policy 8, Policy 14, Policy 15, Policy 20, Policy 24
Judgments cited: Leech Homes case (Upper Tribunal, Lands Chamber)
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.