®Planning appeal decision
Land west of Town Farm, Pound Lane, Ditchingham, Norfolk, NR35 2DN
the erection of a paragraph 84 e) self-build dwelling, a living swimming pond, a new access, extensive landscaping and biodiversity enhancement
- Authority
- South Norfolk District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Williams K
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed development on protected species, with particular regard to GCN
- whether the proposal would be in a suitable location for new housing having regard to sustainable patterns of development and other considerations
What decided it
The proposal has not sufficiently demonstrated it would not harm Great Crested Newts or that a licence would be granted, and this very substantial negative weight afforded to the harm in respect of GCN overrides the benefits and significantly and demonstrably outweighs them.
The benefits of the design quality, environmental enhancements, housing contribution and economic/social benefits were outweighed by the very substantial harm to Great Crested Newts and the conflict with Local Plan Policy DM1.3 (though the latter was given limited weight due to the housing supply position), resulting in the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighing the benefits under Framework paragraph 11(d).
Framework references: 11, 84, 110, 115, 193
Plan policies cited: Policy DM1.3, Policy DM1.1
Judgments cited: Braintree District Council v SSCLG & Ors [2017] EWHC 2743 (Admin); Braintree DC v SSCLG, Greyread Ltd & Granville Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 610; City and Country Bramshill Ltd v SSHCLG, Hart DC and other [2021] EWCA Civ 320
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.