®Planning appeal decision
Land at Gershwin Park, Gershwin Boulevard, Witham, Essex, CM8 1XU
the ‘Erection of single storey building of 262sqm to provide 3 neighbourhood retail units (Class E), a three storey building to provide a 70 bedroom care home (Class C2) and 44 residential dwellings (Class C3) comprising of dwellinghouses and a three storey apartment building, alongside access, parking, landscaping and other associated works
- Authority
- Braintree District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Chamberlain G
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- The adequacy of the living conditions of future occupants, with particular reference to outdoor amenity space and privacy
What decided it
The poor design quality of the scheme as a whole, combined with harmful loss of privacy to occupants of Plots 20 and 17, was found to significantly and demonstrably outweigh the substantial benefits even under the tilted balance.
The significant benefits of the scheme (sustainable location, care home provision, housing and affordable housing delivery, economic benefits) were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the harm arising from poor design and harmful living conditions at Plots 20 and 17, such that the tilted balance did not favour permission.
Framework references: 11, 62, 81, 93, 98, 180, 92, 126, 130, 131, 134
Plan policies cited: Policy SP1, Policy SP7, Policy LPP52
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.