®Planning appeal decision
27b Ethelbert Square, Westgate on Sea, Kent, CT8 8SR
Planning appeal 3324510 at 27b Ethelbert Square, Westgate on Sea, Kent, CT8 8SR (Thanet District Council) was allowed on 22 July 2025 by Inspector Shields T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect on the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay Special Protection Area (SPA) and Hacklinge Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
the change of use of the building from storage to 1 No. 2-bed dwelling
- Authority
- Thanet District Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Shields T
- Postcode
- CT8 8SR
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect on the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay Special Protection Area (SPA) and Hacklinge Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- the effect on the living conditions of occupiers and adjoining occupiers with regard to: the provision of external space, privacy, and noise disturbance
What decided it
The tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11d(ii), combined with the mitigation of identified harms through planning conditions and the Unilateral Undertaking, meant the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing one new dwelling.
The limited harm from lack of external amenity space and the significant harm to adjoining occupiers' privacy from the roof terrace use (mitigated by condition) were outweighed by the social and economic benefits of providing one new dwelling in a sustainable location, applying the tilted balance due to lack of five-year housing land supply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SP29Policy QD03
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 58
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Thanet
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
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- Planning permission granted22 May 20263344673The Dolphin Public House, 53-55 Albion Street, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1NE
- Notice varied and upheld22 May 2026334467153 Albion Street, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1NE
- Notice varied and upheld17 March 2026332898543 - 45 High Street, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1JR
- Notice varied and upheld2 February 202633289895 Beach Mews, Broadstairs, Thanet, Kent, CT10 1JQ
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.