72a High Street, Battle, TN33 0AG

Planning appeal 3315082 at 72a High Street, Battle, TN33 0AG (Rother District Council) was dismissed on 16 August 2023 by Inspector Buchanan R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would result in the unjustified loss of a premises for employment or community use.

change of use from office to residential, proposing a new three-bed maisonette

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Buchanan R
Postcode: TN33 0AG

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would result in the unjustified loss of a premises for employment or community use

What decided it

The appellant's failure to provide evidence of marketing, viability assessment, or lack of demand for employment or community use meant the proposal could not satisfy the development plan's requirements for justified loss of employment premises, and the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.

The modest social, economic and environmental benefits of a single dwelling and housing delivery (limited weight) were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the significant weight of the unjustified loss of employment premises and the conflict with local and national objectives for town centre vitality and economic growth, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy DEC3(i)Policy DCO1Policy BA1(vi)Policy EC3(i)Policy HD8
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 11

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

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The decision letter

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The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023

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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.