Pleasant Valley Farm, Pleasant Valley Lane, East Farleigh, Kent, ME15 0BB

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Wyborn D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
whether or not the development plan would support the proposal in this location, including having regard to the ability to access services and facilities by a range of transport modes

What decided it

The substantial weight afforded to the harm to character and appearance and the conflict with the development plan's settlement strategy and distribution of development, which outweighed the limited benefits of the proposal.

The harm to character and appearance and policy conflict with the settlement strategy, afforded substantial weight, were not outweighed by the limited benefits of housing supply and other considerations.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy SS1, Policy SP1, Policy SP17, Policy DM1, Policy DM30

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.