Woodlands, Whempstead Road, Benington, STEVENAGE, SG2 7DH

the erection of a detached dwelling

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Barnes D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed development would be in an accessible location
The effect of the proposed development on the setting of a designated heritage asset

What decided it

The combination of the site's inaccessible location contrary to sustainable development principles and the failure to preserve the setting of the designated heritage asset, with no demonstrable public benefit to outweigh the less than substantial harm.

The less than substantial harm to the designated heritage asset was weighed against the claimed public benefit of a single family dwelling, but with a five-year housing land supply demonstrated and housing delivery exceeding the test, no public benefit was found to outweigh the harm.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy DPS2, Policy GBR2, Policy TRA1, Policy HA7

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.