River Farm Chart Hill Road, Staplehurst, Kent, TN12 0RW

a two storey side extension to timber framed barn

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: householder · Householder (HAS)
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Bennett K

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the building
the effect on the openness of the countryside

What decided it

The modest scale of the extension, its sympathetic design respecting traditional materials and vernacular form, and the limited visibility of the site from public vantage points due to screening meant the proposal would not harm the character of the building or openness of the countryside.

Plan policies cited: Policy SP17, Policy DM1, Policy DM30, Policy DM32

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.

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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.
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In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.