®Planning appeal decision
Land North of Catts Hill, Town Row, Rotherfield , TN6 3NL
Planning appeal 3288314 at Land North of Catts Hill, Town Row, Rotherfield , TN6 3NL (Wealden District Council) was dismissed on 18 November 2022 by Inspector Davies N, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development, having regard to the spatial strategy of the development plan.
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
- Postcode
- TN6 3NL
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.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy GD2Policy DC17Policy EN1Policy EN6Policy EN27
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11
- Judgments
- Monkhill Ltd v SSHCLG [2019] EWHC 1993 (Admin)
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Wealden District Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2022
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- Notice varied and upheld28 September 20263356589Land An New House Farm, Buckham Hill, Isfield, East Sussex, TN22 5XU
- Dismissed25 September 20266009517Fairfield Cottage, Cross In Hand Road, Heathfield, TN21 0SN
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.