®Planning appeal decision
Oasthouse Nursery, Ash Road, Ash, Kent, TN15 7HJ
clearance of existing nursery facilities and erection of 18 homes with associated parking and landscaping incorporating Oast House
- Authority
- Sevenoaks District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Nicholls H
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposals would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the development plan and the Framework
- the effect of the proposals on the openness of the Green Belt
- if relevant, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal
What decided it
Neither scheme would cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt, so both qualified under the paragraph 154(g) exception and were not inappropriate development, with the substantial public benefits in any event outweighing any conflict with the development plan.
The Inspector found neither scheme conflicted with the development plan as a whole, and that any such conflict would be outweighed by Framework policies and substantial public benefits (housing supply, affordable housing, economic and biodiversity benefits), justifying permission being granted.
Framework references: 11, 79, 154
Plan policies cited: Policy LO8, Policy LO1, Policy SP3
Judgments cited: Turner v SSCLG [2016] EWCA Civ 466; R(oao Samuel Smith Old Brewery) v North Yorkshire CC [2020] UKSC 3
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.