Land accessed of Bindon Lane, Witham Friary, Frome, BA11 5HH

change of use from Agricultural to Equestrian for the relocation of an existing Riding School business. Construction of Menage, 2 'American barns' associated parking, paths, muck heap & hard standing. Also installation of a mobile home to be occupied by the owners in association with the business

Authority: Mendip District Council *
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: agricultural · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Harrington S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether there is an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at the appeal site
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
The effect of the proposal on highway safety

What decided it

The combination of an unproven essential need for a rural worker's dwelling, harm to character and appearance, and an unresolved highway safety concern meant the proposal conflicted with the development plan and could not be outweighed by other considerations.

The modest benefits to the rural economy, equine welfare and employment did not outweigh the harm to character and appearance, the harm to highway safety, and the failure to demonstrate an essential need for a rural worker's dwelling

Framework references: 80

Plan policies cited: Core Policy 1, Core Policy 4, DP13, CP1, CP4, DP1, DP9

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.