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Allowed5 February 20243321094

Land North Of Little Cheveney Farm, Sheephurst Lane, Marden, Kent, TN12 9SD

Planning appeal 3321094 at Land North Of Little Cheveney Farm, Sheephurst Lane, Marden, Kent, TN12 9SD (Maidstone Borough Council) was allowed on 5 February 2024 by Inspector Major P, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.

the installation of a renewable energy led generating station comprising of ground-mounted solar arrays, associated electricity generation infrastructure and other ancillary equipment comprising of storage containers, access tracks, fencing, gates and CCTV together with the creation of woodland and biodiversity enhancements

Authority
Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Inquiry
Development
utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Major P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
  • The impact of the proposal on the setting of nearby heritage assets
  • Whether it has been demonstrated that the development is appropriately sited given the presence of best and most versatile agricultural land (BMV)
  • Whether, in light of the above issues, and the other matters identified below, the planning balance falls in favour of, or against, planning permission being granted

What decided it

The substantial weight attributable to the provision of renewable energy alone was sufficient to outweigh the limited landscape harm and other adverse impacts identified.

the substantial weight given to renewable energy provision, together with significant weight for biodiversity net gain and moderate weight for economic benefits, outweighed the moderate landscape harm, no heritage harm, and the limited-weight temporary loss of BMV land

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy SP17Policy SP18Policy DM1Policy DM3Policy DM4Policy DM24Policy DM30Policy LPRINF3
Judgments
Bramley Solar Farm v SOS for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

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.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Maidstone Borough Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2024

  1. Allowed5 October 20266008294
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  2. Allowed18 June 20266004838
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  3. Planning permission granted10 June 20263347386
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  4. Dismissed31 March 20263376954
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  5. Dismissed31 March 20263375683
    Land to the Rear of the Taj of Kent, Marden, Kent, TN12 9HS

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.