®Planning appeal decision
Franks Barn, Blue House, Battle Lane, Marden, Kent, TN12 9AN
Planning appeal 3304984 at Franks Barn, Blue House, Battle Lane, Marden, Kent, TN12 9AN (Maidstone Borough Council) was dismissed on 1 September 2023 by Inspector Hickey A, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the appeal site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to local and national planning policy for the delivery of housing and accessibility to services and facilities.
Conversion of barn to three bedroom dwelling; provision of parking/turning area and erection of detached 2-bay garage
- Authority
- Maidstone Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Hickey A
- Postcode
- TN12 9AN
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the appeal site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to local and national planning policy for the delivery of housing and accessibility to services and facilities
- whether it has been demonstrated that a reasonable attempt has been made to secure a suitable business re-use for the existing building on site
- whether the building is structurally sound and capable of conversion
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The appeal site's location in unsustainable open countryside, combined with the failure to demonstrate reasonable attempts to secure business re-use and insufficient evidence of the building's structural capability for conversion, meant the proposal conflicted with the development plan with no material considerations to outweigh this conflict.
The small benefits from adding an energy-efficient dwelling and economic benefits from conversion were significantly outweighed by the adverse effects of locating residential development in an unsuitable, unsustainable location and the unresolved concerns about building conversion feasibility.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SS1Policy DM1Policy DM31Policy SP17Policy DM30Marden Neighbourhood Plan Policy In2Marden Neighbourhood Plan Policy BE4
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 48
- Judgments
- Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [JPL, 1982, P37]
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.