®Planning appeal decision
Land to the West of Storrington Road,, Thakeham, RH20 3DY
demolition of existing buildings and the phased redevelopment of the site as a residential led development comprising 247 dwellings and flexible non-residential floorspace (Use Class E), with works to public right of way and associated landscaping, open space and infrastructure
- Authority
- Horsham 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 scale and location of the proposal accord with the development plan
- whether the proposal would be sustainably located in relation to facilities and services to minimise the reliance of future residents on private vehicles
- whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location with regard to flood risk
What decided it
The proposal's unsustainable scale and location relative to Thakeham's limited facilities and poor active travel/public transport connectivity, compounded by the existence of a sequentially preferable flood risk site, meant the harms significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits.
The adverse impacts of granting permission—conflict with the settlement strategy, an unsustainable location reliant on private vehicles, and the availability of a sequentially preferable flood risk site—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the substantial benefits of housing and affordable housing delivery and other lesser benefits.
Framework references: 11, 14, 110, 170, 175
Plan policies cited: Policy 2 (HDPF), Policy 3 (HDPF), Policy 4 (HDPF), Policy 26 (HDPF), Policy 40 (HDPF), Policy 3 (TNP)
Judgments cited: R (Mead and Redrow) v SoS LUHC [2024] EWHC 279 (Admin)
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.