Land opposite Grange Road at, Maidstone Road, Sevenoaks, Kent

residential development alongside hard and soft landscaping including access, car parking, public open space, SuDS and associated infrastructure

Authority: Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Hanna P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area
whether the proposal makes adequate provision for affordable housing

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five year housing land supply and the scheme's compliance with the Golden Rules engaged the paragraph 11(d) tilted balance, which the identified harms did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh.

The moderately adverse effect on character and appearance and localised slight adverse landscape impact did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the substantial housing, affordable housing, economic and environmental benefits, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied despite conflict with the development plan as a whole

Framework references: 11, 57, 58, 78, 155, 158

Plan policies cited: Policy CP24, Policy SQ1

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.