Valencia Stables, Valencia Grove, Eccleston Park, St Helens, Merseyside, L34 2TS

change of use from agricultural use to garden attached to house

Authority: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Veevers A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and relevant development plan policies, including the effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The annexing of agricultural land for residential garden use conflicts with the Green Belt purpose of safeguarding the countryside from encroachment and reduces openness, constituting inappropriate development for which no very special circumstances exist to justify approval.

Framework references: 155, 150

Plan policies cited: Policy LPD05, Policy LPA01

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.

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