Higher Manor Farm, Littlemead, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5DL

change of use of land for siting 2 holiday lodges and associated works

Authority: Dorset
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Change of use
Inspector: Jones M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether or not the proposed development would constitute rural diversification for the purposes of planning policy
the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, with reference to the Area of Local Landscape Importance (ALLI) and the setting of the Dorset National Landscape (the DNL)
whether or not the site would be suitable for the proposed development with regard to flood risk
the effect of the proposed development on the integrity of the Chesil and the Fleet Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Chesil Beach and the Fleet Special Protection Area (SPA)

What decided it

The Unilateral Undertaking secured the rural diversification status and provided proportionate mitigation for European site impacts, allowing the scheme to accord with relevant policies despite the flood risk and landscape sensitivity of the location.

Plan policies cited: Policy ECON8, Policy ENV1, Policy ENV10, Policy ENV12, Policy ECON7, Policy ENV5, Policy ENV2

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.