Longbrooks Oast, Knowle Road, Brenchley, Kent, TN12 7DJ

the demolition of barn and replacement with a single detached house

Authority: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Leigh C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposed dwelling would be acceptable when consideration is given to local and national planning policy regarding the location of development
The effect of the proposed development on the character of the rural area
The effect of the proposed development on the setting of listed buildings
The effect of the proposed development on protected species

What decided it

The harm to landscape character from the proposed outbuilding, combined with deficiencies in information regarding protected species and drainage, outweighed the benefits of the fallback position argument.

Plan policies cited: Policy LBD1, Core Policy 1, Core Policies 6 and 14, Core Policy 4, Policy EN1, Policy EN25, Policy EN4

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.