Field On Corner With Ferndale Road & Deadmill Lane, Lower Swainswick, Bath, BA1 8NE

a development of 15 affordable dwellings

Authority: Bath and North East Somerset Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Evans J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to the effect upon the Bath World Heritage Site, upon the setting of the Bath Conservation Area, upon the non-designated heritage asset Dead Mill, and upon nearby trees
The impact of the proposal upon highway safety
The impact of the proposal upon protected species within the area
Whether the proposal would make adequate provision for surface water drainage
Whether the proposal would make adequate provision for securing any additional need arising from the development, having particular regard to affordable housing

What decided it

The unacceptable harm to the Bath World Heritage Site and the setting of the Bath Conservation Area caused by the loss of the green wedge and the erosion of the distinctive urban-rural interplay, which would not be outweighed by the public benefits of providing 15 affordable homes.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: CP8, RA4, B4, CP6, NE2, NE2A, NE6, D1, D2, D3, D4, HE1, ST1, NE3, NE5, D5, CP5, CP9, CP13, ST7

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.