Jobbers Wood Sports Pavillion, Great Hadham Road, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, SG10 6FB

erection of new cricket school and construction of associated parking on recreational ground at Jobbers Wood

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Other minor developments
Inspector: Clowes M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to trees
Whether the appeal site is in an accessible location having regard to the development plan
Whether the proposal would provide biodiversity net gain
Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm would be outweighed by other considerations, including health, education and transport benefits, so as to amount to very special circumstances necessary to justify it

What decided it

The substantial weight given to Green Belt harm combined with harm to character and appearance and insufficient biodiversity net gain information outweighs the limited weight that can be attached to the claimed health and educational benefits, such that very special circumstances do not exist.

Framework references: 154, 142, 135, 89, 180

Plan policies cited: Policy GBR1, Policy DES4, Policy DES2, Policy DES3, Policy NE3, Policy NE2, Policy CFLR1, Policy TRA1

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.