Land off Bull Lane, Stockbury, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7UB

the erection of a detached dwelling with associated garden, access, parking and landscaping and biodiversity enhancements

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Price A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character of the countryside, including the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
whether the site is a suitable location for housing, having particular regard to the accessibility of services and facilities

What decided it

The site's location in open countryside outside any settlement boundary, combined with poor accessibility to services and facilities without reliance on private vehicles, makes it an inappropriate location for housing that would cause demonstrable harm to the character of the countryside and AONB.

Framework references: 182, 84, 109, 108

Plan policies cited: LPRSS1, LPRSP9, LPRSP15, LPRQD4, LPRENV2

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.