Land North of Nutwood, Down Green Lane, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, AL4 8EJ

use of land for siting of a temporary tourist cabin

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: leisure-sport · Change of use
Inspector: Pearce J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of development plan policy and the Framework
the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
if it is inappropriate, whether the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, or any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development

What decided it

The proposal fails to meet the exceptions in NPPF paragraph 154 for appropriate development in the Green Belt and the modest benefits from tourism do not constitute very special circumstances to justify the inappropriate development.

Framework references: 154

Plan policies cited: Policy 1 of the City and District of St Albans District Local Plan Review 1994, Policy W1 of the Wheathampstead Neighbourhood Plan 2023, Policies 91 and 99 of the Local Plan

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.

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