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Dismissed16 October 20233302571

Land West of Northdown Business Park, Ashford Road, Lenham, Kent, ME17 2DL

Planning appeal 3302571 at Land West of Northdown Business Park, Ashford Road, Lenham, Kent, ME17 2DL (Maidstone Borough Council) was dismissed on 16 October 2023 by Inspector Wyborn D, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether or not the development plan would support the proposed employment use in this location.

Outline application for the construction of up to 2,600 sqm of employment floor space (use classes B2 general industrial, B8 storage and distribution and E(g)(I-III) Offices to carry out any operational or administrative functions, research and development of products or processes and Industrial processes

Authority
Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type
minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
employment-industrial · Other minor developments
Inspector
Wyborn D
Postcode
ME17 2DL

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • whether or not the development plan would support the proposed employment use in this location
  • the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including having regard to the proximity and any effect on the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
  • the effect of the proposal on biodiversity including the ability to deliver biodiversity net gain (Appeal A only)

What decided it

Both schemes would cause undue harm to the character and appearance of the area and the setting of the Kent Downs AONB through over-development with insufficient landscaping, which cannot be adequately mitigated at reserved matters stage.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy SS1Policy SP8Policy SP17Policy DM30Policy DM5Policy DM1Policy DM3Policy CP1Policy EMP3Policy D1
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11

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 applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Maidstone Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023

  1. Dismissed16 October 20233323246
    Land West of Northdown Business Park, Ashford Road, Lenham, Kent, ME17 2DL
  2. Dismissed29 October 20266010536
    21 Tasker Close, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME15 8NZ
  3. Allowed27 October 20266015190
    Little Southernden, Southernden Road, Headcorn, TN27 9LL
  4. Allowed27 October 20266011721
    Loxley House, Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, Maidstone, ME17 3NT
  5. Allowed27 October 20266011076
    Little Southernden, Southernden Road, Headcorn, TN27 9LL

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.