Land East of Sutton Road, Potton, SG19 2DS

outline application: development of up to 26 dwellings, comprising entirely affordable homes, with all matters reserved except for access, along with all ancillary works

Authority: Central Bedfordshire
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Wallace J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.

What decided it

The very substantial weight attached to the harm to the character and appearance of the area outweighed the substantial benefit of affordable housing delivery and other benefits.

The substantial weight given to the delivery of affordable housing and other lesser benefits was outweighed by the very substantial weight given to harm to the character and appearance of the area, so the presumption in favour of sustainable development was not engaged and the appeal was dismissed.

Framework references: 11, 58, 66, 78, 110, 115, 135, 139

Plan policies cited: Policy SP7, Policy EE5, Policy HQ1, Potton Neighbourhood Plan Policy HO-5

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.