Land North of B2138 and A29 Road Junction, Bury Gate, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1NL

construct (net zero) underground dwelling on agricultural land

Authority: South Downs
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Harley S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the integrity of protected sites with particular regard to groundwater abstraction
The effect on the character and appearance of the area
Whether or not the site is an appropriate location for a dwelling having particular regard to the spatial strategy and accessibility to goods and services

What decided it

The absence of robust evidence demonstrating water neutrality and the failure to demonstrate that the design would be sufficiently landscape-led and of exceptional quality meant the proposal conflicted with the development plan and could not be supported.

Framework references: 80, 84, 109, 182

Plan policies cited: SD1, SD4, SD5, SD7, SD8, SD9, SD17, SD19, SD25, SD48, BNDP 2, BNDP 13

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.