Sunset Farm, Mayfield Road, Cross in Hand, East Sussex, TN20 6JJ

erection of a dwelling to provide accommodation for site manager

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Dyer I

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the landscape character and scenic beauty of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the AONB)
Whether the site is suitable for a dwelling, bearing in mind the settlement policies of the development plan and the accessibility of services, and whether there is a need for a rural worker that would outweigh any harm in these regards

What decided it

The identified essential need for a full-time rural worker to live on site to support the safe operation of an established gas storage facility, combined with the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and the small degree of landscape harm, engaged the tilted balance in favour of the proposal.

The significant weight afforded to the economic benefits of supporting an established rural business and contribution to housing supply outweighed the limited weight given to the small harm to the landscape character and scenic beauty of the AONB, applying the tilted balance under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework.

Framework references: 11, 69, 84

Plan policies cited: Policy EN6, Policy GD2, Policy DC17, Policy DC2, Policy EN1, SPO1, SPO7

Judgments cited: Keen v Secretary of State for the Environment and Aylesbury Vale District Council [1996] JPL 753

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.

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