®Planning appeal decision
Frith Business Centre Frith Road, Aldington, ASHFORD, TN25 7HJ
change of use of former business centre (Use Class B1c) to allow the siting of 30 residential park home caravans (over 50’s age restricted) with associated services, infrastructure and landscaping at Frith Business Park following the demolition and removal of the existing commercial buildings and associated hard standing. This
- Authority
- Ashford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Hobbs J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the site is a suitable location for residential development having regards to local and national planning policy for the provision of housing
- the effect of the proposal on trees
- whether the proposal would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers, with particular regard to the provision of external space
What decided it
The appeal site is an inappropriate location for the scale of residential development proposed, being remote from day-to-day services and sustainable transport, and the proposal would necessitate harmful works to protected trees, such that the adverse impacts substantially and demonstrably outweigh the housing benefits under the tilted balance.
The benefits of 29 park homes addressing housing land supply shortfall and providing low-cost, age-restricted accommodation were ascribed considerable weight, but the substantial weight given to the harm of locating residential development in an unsustainable, remote location and necessitating works to protected trees meant the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits when assessed against the Framework's policies taken as a whole.
Framework references: 11
Plan policies cited: Policy HOU5, Policy SP1, Policy SP2, Policy ENV5, Policy HOU15, Policy ENV1
Judgments cited: Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823
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.