Former Waterdell Nurseries, High View, Chequers Lane, Watford, WD25 0GR

Planning appeal 3318082 at Former Waterdell Nurseries, High View, Chequers Lane, Watford, WD25 0GR (St Albans City Council) was dismissed on 7 December 2023 by Inspector Law T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the site is suitable for residential development in terms of location, land use and amount of development having particular regard to: whether the proposal is inappropriate development within the Green Belt; the impact on the openness of the Green Belt; whether the appeal site would provide a suitable location for housing having regard to the accessibility of existing services and facilities; and would any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal.

erection of 09 affordable dwellings

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Law T
Postcode: WD25 0GR

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is suitable for residential development in terms of location, land use and amount of development having particular regard to: whether the proposal is inappropriate development within the Green Belt; the impact on the openness of the Green Belt; whether the appeal site would provide a suitable location for housing having regard to the accessibility of existing services and facilities; and would any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt with substantial harm to openness and character, and lacks suitable accessibility to services, which together are not clearly outweighed by the benefits of affordable housing provision.

The benefits of nine affordable dwellings and contribution to housing supply were given considerable weight, but did not clearly outweigh the substantial weight afforded to the harm from inappropriate development, loss of openness, and moderate harm to character and appearance and accessibility to services; Green Belt policy restricts development so the tilted balance does not apply.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy 8 of the City of St Albans Local Plan (1994)LP Policy 2
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 11Paragraph 138Paragraph 149Paragraph 8Paragraph 130

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.