Meadow Cottage, Church Lane, Ashford, Kent, TN26 1LY

the replacement of the existing commercial kennels with 1no dwelling including parking and landscaping

Authority: Ashford Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Glassar S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether or not the proposed development would accord with local and national policies regarding the location of housing

What decided it

The proposal's location in an unsustainable position outside any settlement, where future occupants would be highly dependent on car use for day-to-day activities, conflicts with both local policy HOU5 and the Framework's support for sustainable development patterns, and this harm outweighs the housing supply benefits even under the tilted balance.

The housing supply benefits and social and economic benefits of the proposal were outweighed by the significant adverse effects of locating a dwelling in an unsustainable location dependent on car use, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply

Framework references: 84, 124, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy HOU5, Policy SP1

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.

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