®Planning appeal decision
209-211 West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire , HP12 3AW
demolition of existing buildings and erection of a single block comprising 10 x 2 and 2 x 1 bed apartments with cycle and bin stores, with associated landscaping, car parking and widening of existing access, without complying with conditions attached to planning permission ref 16/07637/FUL dated 9 March 2018
- Authority
- Buckinghamshire Council - Wycombe Area *
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Shearing C
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be suitably located, having regard to flood risk
- Effects on biodiversity, with particular regard to the habitats adjacent to the River Wye and whether the proposal would achieve appropriate biodiversity net gain
- The effects of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The proposal failed to satisfy the sequential test for flood risk as the appellant had not adequately demonstrated that reasonably available sites in areas with lower flood risk did not exist.
The benefits of three new homes, economic benefits from construction and future occupancy, and the reinstatement of the Mill Race were ascribed moderate weight, but were insufficient to outweigh the significant and long-lasting harms arising from flood risk, inadequate biodiversity buffer, and failure to deliver appropriate biodiversity net gain, which conflicted with the development plan and the Framework.
Framework references: 11, 125
Plan policies cited: Policy DM39, Policy DM15, Policy DM11, Policy DM13, Policy DM34, Policy CP10, Policy DM14, Policy CP9, Policy DM35
Judgments cited: Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin); John Leslie Finney v Welsh Ministers & Carmarthernshire County Council; Energiekontor (UK) Limited; Fiske v Test Valley BC & Woodington Solar Limited
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.