Hollinwood, Little London Road, HEATHFIELD, TN21 0BJ

the erection of a detached dwelling and detached garage

Authority: Wealden District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Sylvester G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on ancient woodland
Whether it would provide adequate living conditions for future occupants, with particular regard to outdoor garden space

What decided it

The proposed development would result in deterioration of the ancient woodland habitat through encroachment into the buffer zone by future occupiers, conflicting with NPPF paragraph 186.c) and local plan policies, and this conflict with the development plan firmly outweighs the modest benefits of the proposal.

The substantial weight given to conflict with development plan policies on ancient woodland protection firmly outweighs the collective modest benefits of housing delivery, economic activity, and biodiversity enhancement; the proposal does not constitute sustainable development under NPPF paragraph 11.d) due to the clear refusal reason provided by Footnote 7 regarding ancient woodland harm.

Framework references: 186, 11, 135

Plan policies cited: Policy EN13, Policy EN27, Policies WCS12, Policies WCS13

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.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.