®Planning appeal decision
Land known as Lakeview, Baulking Lane, Baulking, Oxfordshire, SN7 8NR
for the change of use of land to residential, for one Gypsy Traveller family. The development to comprise one static caravan, one touring caravan, parking for two vehicles, associated hardstanding and infrastructure (retrospective). Summary
- Authority
- Vale of White Horse District Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Major traveller and caravan pitches
- Inspector
- Freer P
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the stationing of caravans for residential use is appropriate in this location
- the effect of the development, if any, on the character and appearance of the area
- whether the development has resulted in a net loss of biodiversity
- whether the development effects the future extraction of the nearby reserves of minerals, specifically Fullers Earth
What decided it
The personal circumstances of the appellant's family, particularly the children's ongoing education and lack of any suitable alternative site, tipped the balance in favour of a temporary and personal permission rather than dismissal, despite the identified landscape, biodiversity and minerals-safeguarding harms.
the harm to the character and appearance of the area, the setting of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, potential biodiversity loss and conflict with the Minerals Safeguarding Area outweighed the benefits for a permanent permission, but the absence of a five-year supply of deliverable sites, lack of alternative sites, and the appellant family's personal circumstances tipped the balance in favour of a temporary, personal permission
Framework references: 8, 11, 84, 187, 189
Plan policies cited: Policy CP1, Policy CP3, Policy CP4, Policy CP25, Policy CP27, Policy DP6, Policy DP12, Policy H2B, Policy H3, Policy CP37, Policy D1, Policy CP46, Policy M8
Judgments cited: Smith v SSLUHC & Others [2022] EWCA Civ 1391; Angela Smith v Doncaster MBC [2007] EWHC 1034 (Admin)
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.