River View, Bidna Lane, Northam, Devon, EX39 1NU

to replace existing outbuilding (garage & workshop) with single live-work dwelling

Authority: Torridge District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Butcher C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location, taking account of the Council's adopted spatial strategy
The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The proposal conflicts with the development plan spatial strategy by introducing open market residential development in a countryside location within the undeveloped coast without demonstrating that it cannot reasonably be located elsewhere, and no material considerations outweigh this harm.

The benefits of one new dwelling and associated economic benefits from the business element were outweighed by the identified harm and development plan conflict, with the benefits being limited given the small-scale nature of the scheme.

Framework references: 84, 11

Plan policies cited: LP Policy ST07, LP Policy ST09, LP Policy ST14, LP Policy ST04, LP Policy DM04, LP Policy DM08A, LP Policy DM27

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.