Wards Lodge, , Highwood Road, Chelmsford, CM1 3QJ

replace 1.3m high 5 bar wooden gate with 2m high ornate metal gate

Authority: Chelmsford Borough Council
Appeal type: householder · Householder (HAS)
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: other · Other minor developments
Inspector: Cheesley J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal would amount to inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, and if so, 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 the proposal
the effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
the effect of the proposal on the setting of Wards Lodge, a Grade II listed building

What decided it

The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt that would harm openness, character and appearance, and the setting of a listed building, with no very special circumstances to justify it.

Plan policies cited: Strategic Policy S11, Policy DM6, Policy DM23, Strategic Policy S3, Policy DM13

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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