®Planning appeal decision
Land North of Catts Hill, Town Row, Rotherfield , TN6 3NL
erection of four X 3-bed dwellings and two X 4-bed dwellings accessed off Catts Hill together with parking and landscaping
- Authority
- Wealden District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Davies N
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development, having regard to the spatial strategy of the development plan
- The effect of the proposed development upon the rural character and appearance of the area and the landscape quality of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the AONB)
What decided it
The harm to the scenic beauty of the High Weald AONB, which carries great weight and provides a clear reason for refusing the development, outweighs the substantial benefits of housing delivery despite the acute shortfall in housing land supply.
The substantial weight of housing delivery benefits and the acute shortfall in housing land supply were outweighed by the great weight attributed to harm to the AONB landscape and the substantial weight of conflict with spatial strategy policies requiring reliance on private vehicle travel; the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.
Framework references: 11
Plan policies cited: Policy GD2, Policy DC17, Policy EN1, Policy EN6, Policy EN27
Judgments cited: Monkhill Ltd v SSHCLG [2019] EWHC 1993 (Admin)
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.