Stock Street Farm Barn , Stock Street Farm , Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1NX

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether copies of the enforcement notice were served as required by section 172, ie the ground (e) appeals
• whether the matters stated in the notice have occurred, ie the ground (b) appeals
• whether planning permission ought to be granted for the breach of planning control alleged, ie the ground (a) appeal
• whether the steps required by the notice to be taken, or the activities required by the notice to cease, exceed what is necessary to remedy any breach of planning control which may be constituted by those matters or, as the case may be, to remedy any injury to amenity which has been caused by any such breach, ie the ground (f) appeals
• whether the period for compliance with the notice falls short of what should reasonably be allowed, ie the ground (g) appeals
• the effect of the appeal development on the designated heritage assets on the site, including the grade II listed farmhouse and barn and curtilage listed buildings
• if there is harm arising from the effects of the appeal development, whether the harm is outweighed by public benefits of the appeal development to justify a grant of planning permission
• the effect of the appeal development on highway safety

What decided it

The unacceptable risk to highway safety arising from insufficient on-site parking and a substandard, narrow vehicular access onto the fast A120 was the factor the Inspector treated as so important that permission should not be granted, tipping the balance against the appeal even before weighing heritage harm.

The modest public benefits of the community/leisure use did not outweigh the less than substantial harm to the setting of the listed buildings and the unacceptable harm to highway safety, so the balance tipped against granting planning permission.