Birchden Barn, Park Corner Lane, Groombridge, TN3 9NL

conversion of barn to create a two bed property with change of use of land to create residential curtilage

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Shearing C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effects of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area including the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
whether the site is suitably located for a new house, having regard to the Council's spatial strategy and the site's accessibility to services and facilities

What decided it

The harm to the AONB landscape and scenic beauty, combined with the site's unsuitability in terms of accessibility and location relative to the Council's spatial strategy, outweighs the benefits of providing new housing.

The benefits of new housing and re-use of an existing building were outweighed by the significant and long-lasting harm to the AONB and conflicts with the development plan arising from the site's location.

Framework references: 11, 84, 124

Plan policies cited: SPO1, EN6, DC8, GD2, DC17, EN1, SPO7, WCS6, WCS14

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.