Dear Octopus Farm Lane, Camber, RYE, TN31 7QY

erection of a single dwellinghouse

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Holden S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the site is suitable for a dwelling having regard to flood risk
the effect of the proposal on the nature conservation interests of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay Special Protection Area (SPA), Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Ramsar Site
whether the site is a suitable location for a residential development having regard to local and national planning policies for the delivery of housing

What decided it

The site's location in Flood Zone 3 and within designated nature conservation sites, combined with the failure to satisfy the Sequential Test and the adverse effect on protected habitat integrity, provides a clear reason to dismiss the appeal under footnote 7 to paragraph 11 of the Framework 2023, notwithstanding the significant housing land supply shortfall.

The social and economic benefits of providing a single dwelling were outweighed by the clear reasons to dismiss arising from flood risk and adverse effects on the integrity of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SPA, SSSI and Ramsar Sites, which engaged footnote 7 to paragraph 11 and disapplied the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Framework references: 167, 168, 186, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy EN7, Policy EN6, Policy EN5, Policy DEN4, Policy OSS2, Policy DIM2, Policy RA2, Policy RA3

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.