Presdale Nursery , Hoe Lane , Nazeing, Essex, EN9 2RJ

change of use of part of the nursery site (Use Class Sui Generis) to a site for storage and distribution (Use Class B8) comprising 14 units including the partial demolition of the glasshouses

Authority: Epping Forest District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Caines A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt including the effect on openness and purposes of Green Belt
Whether the proposal is acceptable having regard to development plan policies relating to employment sites
If the proposal is inappropriate development, whether harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal would not preserve the openness of the Green Belt and would conflict with its purposes, and the harm to the Green Belt was not clearly outweighed by other considerations.

Framework references: 155

Plan policies cited: Policy DM4 D(iv), Policy E1, Policy E3, Policy DM2

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.

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