Allotment Gardens west of Pelaw Youth Centre, Shields Road, Felling, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE10 0YH

Private general amenity land use

Authority: Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: other · Change of use
Inspector: Merrett R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the use of the appeal site as private general amenity land has continued for a period of ten years or more prior to the date of application (25 May 2022) so as to be immune from enforcement action

What decided it

The appellant's evidence was insufficiently precise and unambiguous to demonstrate continuous use of the land for ten years or more prior to the application date, falling significantly short of the requisite test for lawfulness.

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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.
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