616 Bearwood Road, Smethwick, West Midlands, B66 4BW

pursuant to planning applications DC/20/64484, DC/22/66692 and DC/23/67938, proposed three-storey rear extension to accommodate an additional four single-occupancy bedsits; together with bicycle parking facilities, refuse and recycling storage, and external staircases

Authority: Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Hall R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
whether the proposed development would provide adequate living conditions for future occupants of the proposal, with particular regard to access to kitchen facilities

What decided it

The unacceptable harm to character and appearance from the additional third storey, which would be conspicuous and incongruous with the traditional form and materials of the area, could not be justified by the modest additional social and economic benefits over the fallback scheme.

Framework references: 135, 96, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy HOU2, Policy ENV3, Policy EOS9

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.