Land to Rear of Badgers Run, Withyham Road, Groombridge, TN3 9QT

4 Dwellings: 2 pairs of 3 bedroom semi-detached houses, with associated parking and landscaping

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Hobbs J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal upon existing trees/woodland
the effect of the proposal on biodiversity and the local ecological network
the effect of the proposal on the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area (the SPA) and Ashdown Forest Special Area of Conservation (the SAC)

What decided it

The significant harms to existing trees/woodland and biodiversity and the local ecological network, which would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of housing delivery when assessed against the Framework's policies taken as a whole.

The benefits of four dwellings in an accessible location and associated economic benefits were given considerable weight in cumulative terms due to the significant housing land supply shortfall, but were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the substantial harms to trees/woodland and biodiversity and policy conflicts with CS Policy WCS12 and saved LP policies EN1, EN7 and EN15.

Framework references: 180, 186, 225

Plan policies cited: LP Policy EN12, CS Policy WCS12, CS Policy WCS14, saved LP Policies EN1, saved LP Policies EN7, saved LP Policies EN15

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.