Land to the south of Cousley Wood Road, Sparrows Green, Wadhurst, East Sussex , TN5 6DY

the erection of up to 15 residential dwellings

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Bore J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the scheme on the AONB and the character of the countryside

What decided it

The significant harm to the High Weald AONB and countryside character, combined with the absence of exceptional circumstances to justify major development in the AONB, outweighed the benefits of housing delivery despite the local housing land supply deficit.

The benefits from the delivery of proposed homes, even allowing for the deficit in housing supply, were far outweighed by the harm to the AONB and the character of the countryside

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: EN6, GD2, DC17, WCS13

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.

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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.
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