®Planning appeal decision
Barn at Old Mill House Vineyard, Hazeleigh Hall Lane, Woodham Mortimer, Essex, CM9 6GT
convert agricultural barn into vineyard manager's dwellinghouse with associated internal and external alterations, lay out amenity area and plant native hedgerows and trees
- Authority
- Maldon District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Buchanan R
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the dwelling by conversion of a rural building would in principle be in an acceptable location, having regard to the Council's development plan spatial strategy for rural workers accommodation
- whether there is a functional need for a full-time vineyard manager to live in this location, including if there is a suitable alternative dwelling
- whether the rural enterprise is a viable business with secure prospects
- the effect of the proposal on a protected species, namely bats
- the size of the dwelling and the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The appellant's failure to demonstrate a functional need for the dwelling, that no suitable alternative dwelling existed, and that the enterprise was a viable business, compounded by an unresolved risk of harm to bats, meant the proposal conflicted with LDP Policy H7 and was not outweighed by the limited benefits.
The modest benefits of the scheme (housing delivery, design quality, limited economic benefits) were outweighed by the substantial harm arising from the unjustified need for an isolated rural dwelling, unproven business viability, and unresolved risk to protected species, so the balance tipped against the appeal.
Framework references: 11
Plan policies cited: Policy S8(g), Policy S8(e), Policy S8(m), Policy H7, Policy H7(1), Policy H7(2), Policy H7(3), Policy H7(4), Policy H7(5), Policy S1, Policy H4, Policy T1, Policy T2, Policy E4, Policy D3, Policy N2, Policy D1
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.