Mountfitchet High Wych Road, High Wych, SAWBRIDGEWORTH, CM21 0HX

demolition of dwelling and erection of detached replacement dwelling with detached garden annexe

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

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
Whether the 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 substantial weight given to harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, combined with harm to character and appearance, was not clearly outweighed by other considerations, meaning very special circumstances were not demonstrated.

Framework references: 149, 147, 148, 137

Plan policies cited: Policy GBR1, Policy DES4, Policy VILL2, Policy HOU11

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.