Tower Farm, Knowstone, SOUTH MOLTON, EX36 4RR

Authority: North Devon District Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Hearing
Development: agricultural · Change of use
Inspector: Harwood A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether this is a suitable and justified location for the residential part of the mixed use given the position within the countryside, with reference to the needs of the farming enterprise

What decided it

The tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11(d)(ii), applied because the Council could not demonstrate a five year housing land supply, meant the harm from conflict with out-of-date development plan policies did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, justifying a temporary permission.

The harm by reason of conflict with the out-of-date development plan policies did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the development (small housing contribution, rural economic benefits, personal circumstances), so the presumption in favour of sustainable development tipped the balance in favour of granting a temporary permission notwithstanding conflict with the development plan.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy ST07, Policy DM28

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.