Nether Toes Sheppey Way, Bobbing, SITTINGBOURNE, ME9 8QP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• whether the site is suitable for a residential development having regard to local and national planning policies for the location of housing
• whether a residential conversion would be an acceptable use of a heritage asset
• whether the proposal would preserve or enhance heritage assets, including the setting of Nether Toes, a Grade II listed building
• whether the proposal would adversely affect the integrity of the Thames, Medway and Swale Estuary Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Ramsar Sites

What decided it

The site's unsuitable countryside location outside the settlement boundary, combined with the failure to demonstrate that the building could not viably be used for commercial purposes as required by Policy DM3, meant the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the limited housing benefits.

The limited social and economic benefits of providing a single dwelling and minor contribution to housing supply were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the adverse impacts of the countryside location conflicting with the spatial strategy, reliance on car travel, and failure to meet the exceptions for isolated homes in the countryside or to support a prosperous rural economy.