Land adjacent to Halstead Road, Kirby le Soken, CO13 0DY

construction of a solar project together with all associated works, equipment and necessary infrastructure to include batteries alongside an Electric Vehicle Charging Station, parking, means of access, landscaping and associated development

Authority: Tendring District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Crosby L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
the effect on the Strategic Green Gap between the settlements of Kirby-le-Soken and Kirby Cross

What decided it

The adverse effect on landscape character and visual impact, combined with the infilling of the Strategic Green Gap between settlements, was not outweighed by the renewable energy and climate benefits of the scheme.

Framework references: 180

Plan policies cited: Policy PPL 3, Policy SPL 3, Policy PPL 6

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.
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.
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In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.