Former Quarry House, 81 Quarry Hill Road, Borough Green, Kent, TN15 8RW

erection of a terrace of 4 dwellings with associated gardens and car parking

Authority: Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Wallace J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposed development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework
the effect of the proposed development on the purposes and openness of the Green Belt
whether the site is in a suitable location for development with respect to flood risk
whether the proposal would have an acceptable effect on biodiversity

What decided it

The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt causing substantial harm to its openness and purposes, and the site is unsuitable on flood risk grounds, with the housing and other benefits insufficient to clearly outweigh these harms.

The substantial harm to the Green Belt and moderate harm from flood risk unsuitability were not clearly outweighed by the moderate benefit of four additional dwellings and limited benefits from location, economic activity, ecological enhancement and vernacular design, so very special circumstances were not established.

Framework references: 11, 142, 143, 152, 153, 154, 165, 168, 180

Plan policies cited: CS Policy CP3, CS Policy CP10, CS Policy CP12, MDE Policy NE2, MDE Policy NE3

Judgments cited: Julian Wood v SSCLG, Gravesham Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 195

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.