Former storage barn and arable field, off Morston Road, Blakeney, Norfolk, NR25 7BG

change of use and extension to existing storage barn to form new dwelling and enable rare chalk grassland creation system

Authority: North Norfolk District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Webb B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to its effect on the character and appearance of the area, including the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

What decided it

The significant harm that the screened, domesticated dwelling would cause to the open and scenic character of the AONB outweighed the limited housing and other benefits of the scheme.

The very limited housing and related social, economic and environmental benefits of the dwelling were incapable of outweighing the significant harm identified to the AONB, whereas the chalk grassland element, found severable and policy-compliant, was allowed on its own merits.

Framework references: 176

Plan policies cited: Policy SS1, Policy SS2, Policy HO9, Policy EN3, Policy EN2, Policy EN4

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.