179 Bredhurst Road, Wigmore, Kent, ME8 0QU

proposal for 1no. new 5bedroom detached dwelling with parking and gardens to the rear of No.179

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Hickey A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
whether the proposed development would provide satisfactory living conditions for the future occupiers with particular regard to outlook
the effect of the proposal on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers with particular regard to noise and disturbance

What decided it

The unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the area through the incongruous backland siting and the likely pressure on protected trees, combined with inadequate living conditions for future occupiers due to constrained outlook, outweighed the housing supply benefits.

The benefits of housing delivery and environmental/economic benefits of the single dwelling were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the considerable harm to character and appearance and unacceptable living conditions for future occupiers.

Framework references: 11, 130, 131, 174

Plan policies cited: Policy H9, Policy BNE43, Policy BNE2

Judgments cited: Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd vs Secretary of State for the Environment [JPL, 1982, P37]

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.