®Planning appeal decision
FORMER RADIO STATION, WATTS QUARRY LANE, SOMERTON, SOMERSET, TA11 7JE
provision of a single dwelling and double garage with associated access and parking
- Authority
- South Somerset District Council *
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Nicholls H
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the location of the development accords with local and national policies that seek to provide residents with convenient access to facilities and minimise the dependency on private vehicle
- the effects of the proposal on the Somerset Levels and Moors Special Protection Area and Ramsar Site (SPA)
What decided it
The likely significant effects on the Somerset Levels and Moors SPA from increased phosphate loading, in the absence of a properly secured mitigation strategy, constitute a clear reason for refusal under NPPF paragraph 11d)(i).
The modest housing contribution and completion of the site's redevelopment were outweighed by the likely significant adverse effects on the SPA in the absence of secured mitigation, which provides a clear reason for refusal under the tilted balance.
Framework references: 11
Plan policies cited: Policy SS1, Policy SS2, Policy SD1, Policy EQ4
Judgments cited: Wheatcroft Ltd v SSE [1982]; City & Country Bramshill Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2021] EWCA Civ 320
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.