Sutton Post Office, 1 Tunnicliffe Road, Sutton, Macclesfield, SK11 0EB

Authority: Cheshire East
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: retail · Minor retail and services
Inspector: Bayliss G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and relevant development plan policies
The effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
If inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development

What decided it

The considerable weight afforded to the development's contribution to maintaining the viability of the only retail store serving the ward, combined with strong community support and tourism benefits, clearly outweighed the harm to Green Belt openness and inappropriateness, establishing very special circumstances.

Framework references: 149

Plan policies cited: Policy PG3, Policy PG10, Policy MP1, Policy SD1, Policy SD2, Policy SE1, Policy GEN1, Policy ENV5, Policy RET4, Policy EG2, Policy EG4, Policy REC5, Policy PG9

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.