®Planning appeal decision
Woodlands Farm Broadwater Lane, Copsale, HORSHAM, RH13 6QW
Without planning permission, the material change of use of the Land from equestrian use to a mixed use of equestrian and the stationing of mobile homes for the purposes of human habitation (in the approximate position shown hatched orange on the attached plan) together with the associated operational development compromising the importation of soil and waste material to create a hard surface (in the approximate position shown hatched blue), change of land levels, the installation of a septic tank in the approximate position shown in brown on the attached plan, and excavation of land for services on the Land
- Authority
- Horsham District Council
- Appeal type
- enforcement · Enforcement Notice
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Change of use
- Inspector
- King T
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- planning policy and the five-year land supply position of gypsy and traveller pitches within the Horsham District Council area
- the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, involving also the raising of the land, and the effect on nearby ancient woodland
- the effect of the development on the area's ecology and biodiversity
- the impact of the development on the Arun Valley Special Protection Area (SPA)
What decided it
The unresolved harm to landscape character, ancient woodland, ecology and potential land contamination was found to demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the shortfall in gypsy and traveller pitch supply.
Substantial weight was given to the shortfall in gypsy and traveller pitch supply, but this was outweighed by the adverse effects on landscape character, ancient woodland, ecology and land contamination, such that the costs of granting permission outweighed the benefits.
Framework references: 11, 193
Plan policies cited: Policy 26, Policy 25, LP policies 23, 24, 25, 26 and 33, LP policies 24, 31 and 33
Judgments cited: Murfitt v SOS & East Cambridgeshire DC [1980] 5 WLUK 47; SOS v Caldwell [2024] EWCA Civ 467; Miller-Mead v MHLG [1963] 2 QB 196; McCarthy, Sheridan and Others v SOS & South Cambridgeshire DC [2006] EWHG 3287
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.