®Planning appeal decision
Land at Elmfield, South Hanningfield Road, South Hanningfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8HQ
Planning appeal 3291951 at Land at Elmfield, South Hanningfield Road, South Hanningfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8HQ (Chelmsford Borough Council) was dismissed on 9 March 2023 by Inspector Buchanan R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including its effects on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land in it.
retrospective application for the change of use of the land from Agricultural (Suis generis) to Commercial Business and Service (Class E), to allow for the current commercial business Seabrook Developments Ltd. to store plant, machinery and shipping containers. Access into the site is via Seabrook Developments Ltd. which is to the east of the site
- Authority
- Chelmsford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- employment-industrial · Change of use
- Inspector
- Buchanan R
- Postcode
- CM3 8HQ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including its effects on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land in it
- the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
- whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to very special circumstances required to justify the development
What decided it
The development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt that diminishes openness and causes moderate harm to character and appearance, and the appellant failed to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify the proposal.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy DM10Policy S11
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 137Paragraph 138Paragraph 147Paragraph 149Paragraph 150
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
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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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.