®Planning appeal decision
Land North of Warsop Trading Estate, Hever Road, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 5DJ
erection of a 14no. bedroom, two-storey care leavers accommodation for short and long-term residents (16+ years), to include associated parking, office, hard and soft landscaping with a horticulture area
- Authority
- Sevenoaks District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- community-institutional · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Smith D
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Effect on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
- Effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, including the setting of the adjoining Edenbridge Conservation Area
- Effect on biodiversity
- Effect on public rights of way
- Whether other considerations clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm so as to amount to very special circumstances
What decided it
The Government's great importance attached to Green Belt protection and the requirement that other considerations must clearly outweigh the totality of harm to establish very special circumstances meant that the significant benefits of the care leavers accommodation, whilst substantial, were insufficient to justify inappropriate development in the Green Belt.
The significant benefits of providing purpose-built supported accommodation for care leavers with no alternative sites and contributing to housing supply were outweighed by the substantial harm to the Green Belt (significant loss of openness and undermining of a Green Belt purpose), harm to character and appearance, net loss of biodiversity, and adverse impact on public rights of way users, such that very special circumstances did not exist.
Framework references: 11
Plan policies cited: Policy EN4, Policy EN1, Policy SP11, Policy SP9, Policy T1, Policy T2, Policy LO1, Policy LO8
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.