®Planning appeal decision
The Old Chicken Barn, Hoads Farm, Moat Lane, Sedlescombe, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 0RY
Planning appeal 3300453 at The Old Chicken Barn, Hoads Farm, Moat Lane, Sedlescombe, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 0RY (Rother District Council) was dismissed on 4 May 2023 by Inspector Douglas L, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the appeal site is an appropriate location for a dwelling, with particular regard to the use of the existing building and local and national policies.
described in the application form as: To replace chicken barn with 1 detached house on same footprint and raising to accommodate a second floor, however lowering the pitch of the roof to keep the new height to a minimum. Please also see planning statement
- Authority
- Rother District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Douglas L
- Postcode
- TN33 0RY
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the appeal site is an appropriate location for a dwelling, with particular regard to the use of the existing building and local and national policies
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
What decided it
The proposal would cause significant and long-lasting harm to the character and appearance of the AONB by introducing a substantial residential building of excessive scale in a sparsely developed rural location, which paragraph 176 of the Framework provides a clear reason to refuse despite the Council's inability to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply.
The substantial harm to the AONB character and appearance and conflict with the development plan's strategic approach to managing development in the countryside outweighed the modest benefits of accessible housing, self-build potential, energy efficiency and biodiversity gains.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy EC3 of the Rother Local Plan Core Strategy (2014)Policy RA2 of the Core StrategyPolicy RA3 of the Core StrategyPolicy DEC3 of the Local PlanPolicy DCO1 of the Local PlanPolicy OSS3 of the Core StrategyPolicy OSS4 of the Core StrategyPolicy EN3 of the Core StrategyPolicy DEN1 of the Local PlanPolicy DEN2 of the Local PlanPolicy DHG6 of the Local Plan
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 56Paragraph 176
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.