®Planning appeal decision
Land South of Wittersham Road, Wittersham, Ashford, TN30 7PX
the change of use and conversion of an existing redundant and disused agricultural barn into a residential dwelling with associated alterations, landscaping enhancements, parking provision, existing vehicular access road to be retained and upgraded where necessary, including the demolition of an existing stable block, timber lean-to style awnings and smaller out buildings as well as the removal of a mobile home and a cabin
- Authority
- Ashford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Pearce J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
- whether there are any material considerations which indicate that a decision should be made otherwise than in accordance with the development plan
What decided it
The presence of an extant planning permission for a substantially similar scheme with comparable visual effects on the AONB, which attracts very substantial weight as a fallback position, outweighs the identified harm to the AONB and the conflict with the development plan.
The harmful effect on the character and appearance of the High Weald AONB and conflict with the development plan were outweighed by the very substantial weight of the extant fallback permission for a substantially similar scheme, which would produce comparable visual effects on the landscape.
Framework references: 182, 11
Plan policies cited: Policy SP1, Policy HOU5, Policy ENV3b, Policy SP2
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.