Priory Farm, Levenage Lane, Widford, SG12 8RA

the erection of four dwellings and associated landscaping

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Kemmann-Lane T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character of the site and the rural countryside
the impact of the proposal on highway safety

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply engaged NPPF paragraph 11(d), and the limited harm to countryside character was not significantly outweighed by the benefits of housing delivery in a sustainable location supporting rural community services.

The limited harm to the rural countryside character was not significantly outweighed by the benefits of four new dwellings in a sustainable location supporting the vitality of nearby rural communities and delivering environmental benefits through enhanced landscaping.

Framework references: 11, 83

Plan policies cited: Policy DPS2, Policy GBR2, Policy TRA1, Policy TRA2, Policy Vill1

Judgments cited: Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd. v Secretary of State for the Environment and Another [1982] 43 P. & C.R. 233

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.