Little Betsoms Farm, Chestnut Avenue, Westerham, TN16 2EG

change of use of agricultural land to residential use, the erection of an outbuilding, wall and creation of a swimming pool

Authority: Sevenoaks District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Smith J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, taking account of its effect on openness
if the proposal is inappropriate, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal fails to preserve the openness of the Green Belt in spatial terms by introducing built development into a currently undeveloped part of the site, and the substantial harm by reason of inappropriateness is not clearly outweighed by other considerations sufficient to demonstrate very special circumstances.

Framework references: 138, 149, 150, 176

Plan policies cited: Policy GB3, Sevenoaks Core Strategy 2011, Allocations and Development Management Plan 2015, Development in the Green Belt Supplementary Planning Document 2015

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.