The Crown, Main Road, Wormingford, COLCHESTER, CO6 3AB

alterations to provide a new reception area, kitchen, dining room, improved WC facilities and provision of guest accommodation in grounds of The Crown Public House

Authority: Colchester Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: leisure-sport · Other minor developments
Inspector: Bayliss G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area (Appeal A)
Whether or not the proposal would preserve the listed building (listed as The Crown Public House) or any features of special architectural or historic interest that it possesses, including its setting (both Appeals)

What decided it

The public benefits of the scheme were insufficient to outweigh the less than substantial but weighty harm to the significance of the listed building and the harm to the character and appearance of the area.

the significant weight attached to the public benefits (securing the pub's future, tourism and economic benefits) was outweighed by the great weight given to the less-than-substantial harm to the listed building and the harm to the character and appearance of the area

Framework references: 195, 205, 206, 208

Plan policies cited: Policy ENV1, Policy SP7, Policy OV2, Policy DM16

Judgments cited: Barnwell Manor Wind Enterprise Ltd v East Northants DC, English Heritage, National Trust & SSCLG [2014] EWCA Civ. 137

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.

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