®Planning appeal decision
Land to the rear of 23 & 25 Station Road, Digswell, Welwyn, AL6 0DU
the demolition of two vacant commercial units and erection of two apartments, incorporating a retail unit at ground floor level, and four semi-detached dwellings with residential/private parking, cycle store, refuse store, private and communal amenities
- Authority
- Welwyn Hatfield Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Lo S
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed parking arrangement on highway safety
- the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
- the effect of the proposed development on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers and future occupiers, with particular regard to outlook, privacy and amenity space
What decided it
The total omission of parking provision for existing dwellings would cause displacement of parking to visitor and retail spaces and surrounding streets, resulting in an unacceptable impact on highway safety that outweighs the housing benefits.
The benefits of housing delivery and windfall site development were outweighed by the unacceptable impact on highway safety caused by inadequate parking provision, such that the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits when assessed against the NPPF taken as a whole.
Framework references: 11, 70, 9, 12, 11
Plan policies cited: Policy SADM2, Policy SADM12, Policy SP9, Policy SADM 11
Judgments cited: Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823
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.