Verulam House, Philippines Shaw, Ide hill, Kent, TN14 6AF

‘Without planning permission, erection of an outbuilding (marked X in the approximate location on the attached Plan A)’

Authority: Sevenoaks District Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: other · Other minor developments
Inspector: Douglas L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt
The effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the development on protected habitats, with particular regard to the Scord's Wood and Brockhoult Mount Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
The effect of the development on the landscape character of the Kent Downs National Landscape (NL)
Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the development

What decided it

The building is inappropriate development in the Green Belt that fails to benefit from the forestry or replacement building exceptions, and the other considerations do not clearly outweigh the substantial cumulative harm caused by its inappropriateness and failure to enhance the National Landscape.

Framework references: 11, 142, 143, 154, 2

Plan policies cited: Policy GB3, Policy EN5, Policy SP1, Policy SP11

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.