Land off B4209, Castlemorton, WR13 6BS

the change of use of land to 3 No Traveller pitches and associated works including 3 No day rooms, 3 No mobile homes, 3 No touring caravans and hardstanding

Authority: Malvern Hills District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector: Major P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The impact of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area and the Malvern Hills National Landscape (NL)
Whether the proposed development would be suitably located in relation to available services and facilities
The planning balance

What decided it

The substantial and severe visual and character harm to the Malvern Hills National Landscape outweighed the benefits of meeting an identified need for traveller pitches.

The significant weight attached to the need for traveller pitches and the substantial weight given to children's needs were clearly outweighed by the substantial harm to the character and appearance of the National Landscape and conflict with the development plan as a whole.

Plan policies cited: SWDP 23, SWDP 17, SWDP 17Cv, SWDP 17C, SWDP 17Ci, SWDP 17Cx, SWDP Policy 21, SWDP Policy 25, SWDP Policy 1, SWDP Policy 4

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.