®Planning appeal decision
Land Adjacent to Skyfall, Hitcham Lane, Taplow, SL6 0HG
Planning appeal 3340478 at Land Adjacent to Skyfall, Hitcham Lane, Taplow, SL6 0HG (Buckinghamshire Council - South Bucks Area *) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 10 November 2025 by Inspector Shields T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Appeal A: whether the laying of hardstanding in the form of brick paving, pillars, entrance gates, and formation of access track are immune from enforcement action as operations completed more than 4 years before the application date.
retrospective planning for stables and the change of use from Agricultural to Equestrian. Summary xx APPEAL SITE AND BACKGROUND 1. The appeal site is field of approximately 3.25 hectares located off Hitcham Lane, Taplow and within the Metropolitan Green Belt. There is a hard paved entrance area from the Lane leading to tall entrance gates and piers. From inside the gates a raised track runs close to the eastern field boundary extending northwards to the stables erected close to the northern field boundary. All of this operational development, except for the stables, is subject of
- Appeal type
- ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- agricultural · Householder developments
- Inspector
- Shields T
- Postcode
- SL6 0HG
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Appeal A: whether the laying of hardstanding in the form of brick paving, pillars, entrance gates, and formation of access track are immune from enforcement action as operations completed more than 4 years before the application date
- Appeal B: whether retrospective planning permission should be granted for erection of stables and change of use from agricultural to equestrian use, with particular regard to Green Belt policy and biodiversity net gain
What decided it
Appeal A succeeded in part because the hardstanding and entrance features were evidenced to have been completed in 2012, beyond the 4-year enforcement period, but failed regarding the access track which was reformed after 2019. Appeal B succeeded because the equestrian use does not conflict with Green Belt policy and the statutory biodiversity net gain requirement does not apply to retrospective applications made before 12 February 2024.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CP9
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 154
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.