®Planning appeal decision
Land at Crowbourne Orchard, Smiths Lane, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 1ET
the change of use of the land for the accommodation of 1 gypsy/traveller family, with static home, day room, stables and touring caravan.’ Appeals A and B
- Authority
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
- Inspector
- Harwood A
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area including the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
- The effect of the development on biodiversity
- Personal circumstances, Gypsy status and best interests of children in occupation
What decided it
The harm to the AONB landscape character, to which great weight applies, combined with the failure to demonstrate biodiversity net gain, outweighed the personal and family circumstances relied upon by the appellants.
Significant weight given to personal family circumstances and the best interests of the children did not outweigh the harm to the AONB and the non-compliance with biodiversity policies, so the development conflicts with the development plan as a whole and the appeals were dismissed (save for an extension of the compliance period).
Framework references: 174
Plan policies cited: LP Policy EN25, LP Policy H4, CS Policy 4, NP Policy L1, NP Policy L10, LP Policy EN1, NP Policy L6, PSLP Policy EN9
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.