Land at Downham Hall, Castledon Road, Downham, BILLERICAY, CM11 1LG

Authority: Chelmsford Borough Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Householder developments
Inspector: Ghafoor A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt
The effect on openness and purposes and the character of the surrounding area
The effect of the development on the setting of St Margaret's Church and Downham Hall
Whether other considerations clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm so as to amount to very special circumstances

What decided it

The grant of temporary planning permission for 18 months was justified as a proportionate approach where very special circumstances exist due to the change in planning circumstances (the approved alternative scheme) and the temporary nature allowing removal without significant difficulty.

Framework references: 143, 154, 155

Plan policies cited: SPS1, SPS11, DM6, DM10, S1, S3, DM14

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.