Fairfields Farm, Fordham Road, Wormingford, CO6 3AQ

retrospective planning permission for a composting facility to process 25,000 tpa of green waste to include the provision of weighbridge, 0.4ha of hardstanding for windrows and associated landscaping

Authority: Essex County Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: minerals-waste · Minor general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector: Wilkinson F

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the principle of the proposal with regard to its location and need for the facility
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The harm to the character and appearance of the rural landscape from the combined effect of the operations and HGV movements was found to outweigh the benefits of additional waste management capacity.

the benefits of providing additional waste management capacity were outweighed by the identified long-term harm to the character and appearance of the area, resulting in conflict with the development plan as a whole

Plan policies cited: Policy 1, Policy 6, Policy 10, Policy 11, Policy 12, Policy OV2, Policy DM7, Policy DM15, Policy DM1, Policy DM24, Policy ENV5, Policy SP1

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.

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