Planning appeal decision
Old Yarr, Blaze Lane, Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, B96 6QA
Planning appeal 3335990 at Old Yarr, Blaze Lane, Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, B96 6QA (Redditch Borough Council) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 12 June 2024 by Inspector Phillips A, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the development is inappropriate development for the purposes of the development plan and the Framework.
described on the application form as retrospective application for a horticultural store. Appeal 3: APP/Q1825/W/23/3334186 Old Yarr, Blaze Lane, Astwood Bank, Worcestershire B96 6QA
- Authority
- Redditch Borough Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- other · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Phillips A
- Postcode
- B96 6QA
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the development is inappropriate development for the purposes of the development plan and the Framework
- If the development is inappropriate development, whether the 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 it
- The effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within it (Horse Walker)
- The effect on the character and appearance of the area (Horse Walker)
What decided it
Whether each individual structure amounted to inappropriate development in the Green Belt and, where it did, whether sufficient very special circumstances existed to outweigh the substantial harm to openness and Green Belt purposes.
For the Equine Store, Stable Block and Horse Walker, the substantial harm by reason of inappropriateness and to openness/Green Belt purposes was not clearly outweighed by the limited/little weight personal equestrian and unspecified agricultural benefits, so the appeals failed; for the Dark Blue Dwelling no Green Belt harm arose at all, so the balance did not need to be struck and the appeal succeeded.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy 8 of the Borough of Redditch Local Plan No. 4 Adopted January 2017Policy 39 of the Borough of Redditch Local Plan No. 4 Adopted January 2017
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 154Paragraph 150
- Judgments
- Sage v Secretary of State for Transport and the Regions and Maidstone BC [2003] JPL 1299; Devine v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2023] EWCA Civ 601; Burford v SSCLG [2017] EWHC 1493 Admin; R (Amanda Boot) v Elmbridge Borough Council [2017[] EWHC 12 (Admin)
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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What an account adds to this decision


More decisions in Redditch Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2024
- Dismissed22 June 20266003258Land Adjacent To The White House, Astwood Lane Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, B96 6PT
- Dismissed8 April 20263375587Land Adj. to Dingleside, Featherbed Lane, Redditch, B97 5QL
- Allowed7 April 2026337608443 Alcester Road, Feckenham, Redditch, B96 6JD
- Dismissed26 January 20233305211Land Adjacent to Feckenham Gardens, Astwood Lane, Feckenham, Worcestershire, B96 6JQ
- Dismissed13 September 2021327264212 Dagtail Lane, Redditch, B97 5QT
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.
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