®Planning appeal decision
Land Adjacent Beacon Hill, Rowhill Road, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7QG
Planning appeal 3337755 at Land Adjacent Beacon Hill, Rowhill Road, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7QG (Dartford Borough Council) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 31 March 2025 by Inspector Higenbottam H, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies.
without planning permission the erection of a detached building in the approximate position shown outlined in red on the attached plan
- Authority
- Dartford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- leisure-sport · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Higenbottam H
- Postcode
- DA2 7QG
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
- If the proposed development constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt, would the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
The New Building was inappropriate development in the Green Belt causing harm to openness, and no very special circumstances (including the appellant's speculative agricultural use argument) were found sufficient to outweigh that harm.
the harm by reason of inappropriateness and loss of openness was not clearly outweighed by other considerations, so very special circumstances to justify the development were not established
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy M12
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 142Paragraph 153Paragraph 154Paragraph 155
- Judgments
- Sage v SSETR & Maidstone BC [2003] UKHL 22; Barry Devine v SSLUHC and Another [2022] EWHC 2031; Bhandal v SSHCLG & Bromsgrove DC EWHC 2724 (Admin) JPL 2021, 5, 611-621
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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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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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.