Land on west side of Newlands Farm Road, St Marys Hoo, Rochester, Kent, ME3 8QT

outline application for four self build/custom home build plots

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Wallace J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The significant harm to the character and appearance of the area and the protected landscape, which would not be adequately mitigated by landscaping and would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the limited benefits of four dwellings despite the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.

The social and economic benefits of housing delivery and self-build provision, together with support for local services and potential biodiversity net gain, were outweighed by the significant harm to the character and appearance of the area and the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside within the Area of Local Landscape Importance.

Framework references: 11, 70, 135, 180

Plan policies cited: Medway Local Plan (2003) Policy BNE25, Medway Local Plan (2003) Policy BNE34

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.