Land east of, Folly Cottage, Colletts Chase, Wormingford, CO6 3AU

a change use of land from agricultural to recreational/leisure purposes to provide two lakeside holiday units

Authority: Colchester Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Change of use
Inspector: Brownless E

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, having particular regard to the location of the appeal site within the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
whether the proposal would preserve or enhance the setting of heritage assets
the effect of the proposal on highway safety

What decided it

The cumulative harm to the AONB landscape character, heritage asset settings, and highway safety, combined with only modest economic benefits, meant the proposal failed to accord with the development plan and national policy.

Framework references: 202

Plan policies cited: Policy DM5, Policy ENV1, Policy ENV4, Policy DM16, Policy DM20, Policy DM21

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.