Martinhoe Manor, Woody Bay, Parracombe, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4QZ

change of use of main building to single dwellinghouse

Authority: Exmoor
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Nicholls H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the supply of smaller dwellings within the local housing stock

What decided it

The development plan is silent on amalgamations and contains no specific policy in direct conflict with the proposal, triggering the presumption in favour of sustainable development under NPPF paragraph 11(d), with no significant adverse impacts demonstrably outweighing the benefits.

The limited benefit of reduced vehicle intensity and sustainable travel patterns from a single dwelling use outweighed the harm to housing stock diversity, particularly given the negligible realistic benefit of maintaining seven apartments in this premium location and the absence of any demonstrable adverse impacts under the Framework.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy GP1, Policy HC-S1, Policy HC-S2, Policy HC-S4

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.