Suite 1, The Stables, Cannons Mill Lane, Bishops Stortford, England, CM23 2BN

new build office development (amended)

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Minor general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector: Buchanan R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, including its effect on the openness of the Green Belt
its effect on a Local Green Space
whether it would be acceptable, including in location, having regard to flood risk and sustainable urban drainage
whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt causing substantial harm to openness, and the modest benefits do not constitute very special circumstances to justify approval.

Framework references: 11, 143, 154, 155, 176

Plan policies cited: Policy GBR1, Policy CFLR2, Policy WAT1, Policy WAT5, BSNP Policy GIP2, BSNP Policy GIP8

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.