Planning appeal decision
Plot 4, Land Adjacent to 1 Brackenhill Avenue, Shotton Colliery, Durham, DH6 2QZ
Planning appeal 3351901 at Plot 4, Land Adjacent to 1 Brackenhill Avenue, Shotton Colliery, Durham, DH6 2QZ (Durham County Council) was dismissed on 5 March 2025 by Inspector Francis M, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.
change of use of land to form residential garden, including raised beds, greenhouse and boundary treatments
- Authority
- Durham County Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Francis M
- Postcode
- DH6 2QZ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The proposal would cause substantial harm to the character and appearance of the area by introducing suburban-style development and hardstanding into an important open countryside buffer between two settlements, conflicting with the development plan with no material considerations to outweigh this harm.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy 10Policy 6Policy 29Policy 39
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision


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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.
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