Stockingwood House, Pipers Lane, Harpenden, AL5 1AQ

two storey extension above the existing single storey element to the west end of the property and roof extensions

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: householder · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Householder developments
Inspector: Wilson D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt
whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal results in disproportionate additions to the original building (96% increase in floor space) and causes a small but significant loss of Green Belt openness, with no very special circumstances to justify the harm.

Framework references: 30, 137, 147, 149

Plan policies cited: Policy 1, Policy 13, Policy 69, Policy 72, Wheathampstead Neighbourhood Plan Policy W8, Wheathampstead Neighbourhood Plan Policy W9, Wheathampstead Neighbourhood Plan Policy W14

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.