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Dismissed10 July 20233295268

Land North Of Butterfly Lane, Land Surrounding Hilfield Farm And Land West Of Hilfield Lane, Aldenham, WD25 8DA

Planning appeal 3295268 at Land North Of Butterfly Lane, Land Surrounding Hilfield Farm And Land West Of Hilfield Lane, Aldenham, WD25 8DA (Hertsmere Borough Council) was dismissed on 10 July 2023 by Inspector Heward H, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposed development on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt.

Installation of renewable led energy generating station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays and battery-based electricity storage containers together with substation, inverter/transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure, landscaping, and biodiversity enhancements.” Summary of Recommendation: The appeal be dismissed. Contents Section Page Preliminary and

Authority
Hertsmere Borough Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Inquiry
Development
utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Heward H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The effect of the proposed development on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
  • The effects of the proposed development upon the significance of designated heritage assets and their settings
  • The effect of the proposed development upon landscape character

What decided it

The Secretary of State found that the substantial Green Belt harm, together with the landscape and heritage harms, was not clearly outweighed by the renewable energy and other benefits, so very special circumstances did not exist.

the renewable energy benefits (substantial weight), BNG (substantial weight) and landscape/heritage legacy benefits (moderate weight) did not clearly outweigh the collective Green Belt harm (substantial weight), heritage harm (great weight) and landscape character harm (significant weight), so very special circumstances were not established and permission was refused

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy CS13Policy CS14Policy CS17Policy CS12Policy CS16Policy CS22Policy SP1Policy SADM26Policy SADM29Policy SADM11Policy SADM30Policy SADM14Policy SADM20Policy SADM21
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11Paragraph 48Paragraph 56Paragraph 138Paragraph 143Paragraph 147Paragraph 148Paragraph 151Paragraph 152Paragraph 153Paragraph 155Paragraph 157Paragraph 158Paragraph 159Paragraph 163Paragraph 165Paragraph 180Paragraph 185Paragraph 189Paragraph 191Paragraph 199Paragraph 200Paragraph 202Paragraph 208
Judgments
R (DCLG and Nuon UK Ltd) v Bedford Borough Council EWHC 2847; Fordent Holdings v SSCLG [2013] EWHC 2844 (Admin); Redhill Aerodrome Ltd v SSCLG [2014] EWCA Civ 1386; Barnwell Manor Wind Energy Ltd v East Northamptonshire DC [2014] EWCA Civ 137; Palmer v Herefordshire Council [2016] EWCA Civ 1061; I'm Your Man Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [1998] 9 WLUK 37; Avon Estates Ltd v Welsh Ministers and another [2011] EWCA Civ 553

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 applied

The decision letter

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The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023

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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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.