Land at north side of Caldbec Hill, Caldbec Hill, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 0JY

a detached dwelling

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Redford R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed development would conserve and enhance the landscape and scenic beauty of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

What decided it

The proposal would fail to conserve and enhance the landscape and scenic beauty of the High Weald AONB, and as an AONB is a protected area of particular importance under Paragraph 11(d) of the Framework, the presumption to grant permission despite the shortfall in housing land supply was displaced.

The shortfall in housing land supply and limited potential financial benefits and accessibility of the location did not outweigh the significant harm to the AONB, a protected area of particular importance.

Framework references: 176, 11

Plan policies cited: EN1, OSS4(iii), DEN1, DEN2

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.

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