Brocksfield Stables, Homerswood Lane, Welwyn, AL6 9AD

the change of use of existing stables with external alterations to form a four bedroom detached dwelling with associated car parking and use of existing vehicular access

Authority: Welwyn Hatfield Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Eggleton P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would represent inappropriate development within the Green Belt
The effect on the character and appearance of the area
Whether the site represents an accessible location for a dwelling

What decided it

The re-use of an existing building on previously developed land, combined with the housing shortfall and the enclosed, well-screened nature of the site, outweighed the conflict with the Framework's isolated dwellings policy and the site's poor accessibility by non-car modes.

The benefits of housing delivery and the re-use of an existing building on previously developed land outweighed the harm from poor accessibility by non-car modes and conflict with the Framework's isolated dwellings policy

Framework references: 155, 84, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy SADM 34, Policy SP 9, Policy SADM 16, Policy SP 1, Policy SP 24, Policy SADM 1, Policy SADM 2iii, Policy SADM 3, Policy SP 10

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.

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