28 Belfairs Drive, LEIGH-ON-SEA, SS9 3AA

demolish existing bungalow and construct 1no pair of 4 bed semi-detached houses with car parking to the front and private amenity space to the rear

Authority: Southend-on-Sea City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Buchanan R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
the Council's housing land supply and delivery position

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance, when weighed against the modest housing and economic benefits in the context of reduced weight to development plan policies, demonstrably outweighed the benefits and displaced the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

The modest social and economic benefits of delivering two dwellings (1 net gain) and supporting employment, each given moderate weight, were substantially outweighed by the significant harm to character and appearance given substantial weight, such that the adverse impacts demonstrably outweighed the benefits and the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.

Framework references: 11, 12, 74, 75

Plan policies cited: Policy KP2, Policy CP4, Policy DM1, Policy DM3

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.