®Planning appeal decision
The Manor Hotel & Restaurant, Berwick Pond Road, RAINHAM, RM13 9EL
‘change of use from hotel with associated F&B to create 9 total dwellings. 8 dwellings by way of internal alterations to existing manor building and 1 dwelling by way of rebuilding of adjacent dilapidated coach house. Associated landscaping works’
- Authority
- London Borough of Havering
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Bowyer J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on the special interest of the Grade II listed building, 'Berwick Manor Country Club', its setting or any of the features of special architectural or historic interest that it possesses
- Whether living conditions for future occupiers of The Manor would be acceptable with regard to aspect and the provision of external amenity space
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The less-than-substantial harm to the special interest and significance of the Grade II listed building, when weighed against the public benefits of the proposal (housing delivery and environmental improvements), was found to be insufficient to justify the development, particularly as there was no compelling evidence that the delivery of dwellings was dependent on the scale, design and internal layout proposed.
The less-than-substantial harm to the listed building's significance, carrying considerable importance and weight, was not outweighed by the public benefits of housing delivery (significant weight but limited contribution given small scale), environmental and sustainability benefits (moderate weight), and other benefits; the presumption in favour of sustainable development at paragraph 11(d) did not apply because policies protecting designated heritage assets provided a strong reason for refusal.
Framework references: 11, 16, 66
Plan policies cited: Policy G2 of the London Plan 2021, Policy D6 of the London Plan 2021, Policy HC1 of the London Plan 2021, Policy H1 of the London Plan 2021, Policy 7 of the Havering Local Plan 2021, Policy 26 of the Havering Local Plan 2021, Policy 28 of the Havering Local Plan 2021
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.