Fitchetts Farm Broad Lane, Fordcombe, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, TN3 0SR

change of use of part of the land and associated building from agricultural (B8) and use as a scaffolding yard without planning permission

Authority: Sevenoaks District Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Dudley G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the National Planning Policy Framework and development plan policy
The effect on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect on the character and appearance of the area, including the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
If the development is inappropriate in the Green Belt, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development

What decided it

The harm caused to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by the industrial-style appearance and vehicle movements associated with the scaffolding yard use outweighed the economic and diversification benefits claimed by the appellant.

Plan policies cited: SADM Policy GB7, SADM Policy EN1, SADM Policy EN5, Core Strategy Policy SP8

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.