30 Sycamore Court, UCKFIELD, TN22 1TY

a ‘proposed new 2 bedroom single storey dwelling

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Smith J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
whether satisfactory living conditions would be provided for future occupiers, with particular regard to the availability of outdoor amenity space
the effect on the integrity of the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation

What decided it

The protracted housing land supply shortfall, combined with the qualitative benefits of the proposal including provision of accessible single-storey accommodation in a sustainable location, outweighed the moderate harm to character and appearance, triggering the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

The moderate harm to character and appearance does not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of housing delivery (including accessible bungalow accommodation suited to older people and those with mobility problems), small site delivery, and sustainable location, when assessed against the Framework taken as a whole, in the context of a protracted housing land supply shortfall.

Framework references: 11, 57, 70, 135

Plan policies cited: Policy EN18, Policy ENV27, Spatial Planning Objective SPO13, Policy EN1, Policy EN7, Policy EN15, Core Strategy Policy WCS12, Policy WCS14

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.