Land South of Canterbury Road West, Cliffsend, Kent, CT12 5EA

erection of 141 dwellings, with open space, landscaping, access and associated infrastructure

Authority: Thanet District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Philpott M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is an appropriate location for housing in respect of the Council's spatial strategy and accessibility to services, facilities and sustainable modes of transport
The effect of the proposal on best and most versatile agricultural land
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, with particular regard to the landscape

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and poor housing delivery record engaged the presumption in favour of sustainable development, which tipped the balance decisively in favour of the scheme despite conflicts with the spatial strategy and loss of agricultural land.

The substantial benefits of housing delivery (141 dwellings including 31 affordable units), infrastructure improvements, and the site's accessibility and sustainable location outweighed the modest weight attributable to conflicts with the spatial strategy and the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land, applying the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Framework references: 11, 57, 58, 83, 110, 135, 187

Plan policies cited: Policy SP01, Policy SP24, Policy E16, Policy SP26, Policy QD02, Policy SP23, Policy SP41, Policy SP29, Policy SP30, Policy QD1, Policy SP14

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.