®Planning appeal decision
Land off Lodge Hill Lane, Chattenden, ME3 8NY
the erection of 8 to 12 self-build dwellings with all matters reserved except for access. Provision of open spaces, landscape buffers, drainage features and earthworks. Enhancement and widening of existing access track from Lodge Hill Lane and formation of 2No. new cross-over accesses from Lodge Hill Lane to serve 2No. dwellings
- Authority
- Medway Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Grierson E
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with regard to increased recreational activity and the effect on nightingale birds from cat predation
What decided it
The significant harm to the Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill SSSI from recreational disturbance and cat predation could not be avoided, adequately mitigated or compensated for, and the benefits of the development would not clearly outweigh this harm, triggering the exception in Paragraph 186(b) of the Framework.
The benefits of housing delivery and self-build provision, given significant weight, were outweighed by the significant harm to the SSSI which could not be adequately mitigated, with the SSSI policies providing a clear reason for refusal that displaced the presumption in favour of sustainable development
Framework references: 11, 70, 180, 186
Plan policies cited: Policy BNE35, Policy BNE37
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.