The Chimes, Brook Lane, Lower Stoke, Rochester, ME3 9SZ

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Hall C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the development on the character of the surrounding area
The living conditions of future occupants of the development, particularly in respect of external amenity space

What decided it

The inadequate external amenity space with poor outlook and oppressive enclosure would result in unacceptable living conditions for future occupants, particularly for a three-bedroom family dwelling.

Plan policies cited: Policy BNE1, Policy H4, Policy H9

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.

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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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The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.

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In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.