Atlas Eco Gym, Land South of Green Lane, Marden , Kent, TN12 9RA

without planning permission, the change of use of agricultural land for the provision of a fitness/gym facility (Use Class E) including the placement of 4no. containers with a covered metal frame structure forming a barrel-like roof with new 2no. vehicular access and hardstanding parking area

Authority: Maidstone Borough Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Change of use
Inspector: Douglas L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
The effect of the development on highway safety
The effect of the development on the setting of the Grade II listed building, Brook Oasthouse

What decided it

The significant harm to rural character and appearance combined with unresolved highway safety concerns, which were not outweighed by the moderate benefits of employment and community leisure provision.

Plan policies cited: Policy SP9, Policy SP14(A), Policy SP15, Policy QD4, Policy SS1, Policy ENV1, Policy SP14(B)

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.