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Notice varied and upheld12 February 20253341249

The Chestnuts, Matts Hill Road,, Rainham, Kent, ME9 7XA

Planning appeal 3341249 at The Chestnuts, Matts Hill Road,, Rainham, Kent, ME9 7XA (Medway Council) was allowed in part (a split decision) on 12 February 2025 by Inspector King T, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The need and provision of gypsy and traveller sites within the Medway area.

Without planning permission, the following unauthorised development: 1) Non-compliance the benefit of planning permission, the erection of with condition 2 of appeal

Authority
Medway Council
Appeal type
enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure
Hearing
Development
caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector
King T
Postcode
ME9 7XA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The need and provision of gypsy and traveller sites within the Medway area
  • the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, with particular regard to the KDNL and the NDSLA location
  • whether the degree to which the land is now used provides for a satisfactory standard of living conditions for its occupiers

What decided it

The harm to the character and appearance of the Kent Downs National Landscape/North Downs Special Landscape Area, combined with unsatisfactory living conditions for occupiers, outweighed the lack of a five-year gypsy and traveller site supply and the appellant's personal circumstances.

Considerable weight given to the absence of a five-year supply of gypsy and traveller sites and substantial weight given to personal circumstances/best interests of the child were outweighed by considerable weight attached to harm to the character and appearance of the KDNL/NDSLA and by unsatisfactory living conditions, so the deemed application was refused

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
BNE25BNE31BNE32BNE33BNE2
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 187Paragraph 189
Judgments
Ahmed v SSCLG & Guildford BC [2017] EWCA Civ 231; Stevens v SSCLG [2013] EWHC 792 (Admin); Collins v SSCLG [2013] EWCA Civ 1193

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.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in Medway

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

  1. Notice upheld10 April 20263342871
    4 Everest Lane, Rochester, ME2 3XA
  2. Notice varied and upheld24 March 20263338789
    100 Woodside, Gillingham, ME8 0PW
  3. Planning permission granted19 March 20263338738
    382 Canterbury Street, Gillingham, ME7 5LD
  4. Notice upheld23 October 20253358271
    89 Bryant Road, Rochester, ME2 3ES
  5. Notice upheld20 October 20253349682
    20 Oakhurst Close, Chatham, ME5 9AN

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.