Land North of A30 Junction, Whiddon Down, Drewsteignton, EX20 2QT

described on the application form as ‘a farm shop and ancillary cafe, with supporting secondary areas consisting of storage, WC’s, offices and preparatory kitchen space

Authority: West Devon Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: retail · Minor general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector: Bristow T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is a suitable location for the development proposed
The effect of the proposal on character and appearance

What decided it

The location is unsuitable for retail development because the sequential test was fundamentally flawed, the proposal would likely have significant adverse impacts on village stores in the wider retail catchment, and the claimed benefits fall short of exceptional circumstances required by policy TTV26.1.

Framework references: 11, 80, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 174, 214, 219

Plan policies cited: SPT1, SPT2, TTV1, TTV1.4, TTV2, TTV26, TTV26.1, TTV26.2, TTV27, DEV15, DEV15.5, DEV16, DEV16.2, DEV16.3, DEV16.3.ii, DEV18, DEV20, DEV23

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.