®Planning appeal decision
Willow Tree House Annexe, Bromley Green Road, Ruckinge, Kent, TN26 2EQ
Planning appeal 3354380 at Willow Tree House Annexe, Bromley Green Road, Ruckinge, Kent, TN26 2EQ (Ashford Borough Council) was dismissed on 6 June 2025 by Inspector Grierson E, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location for new housing with regard to the local development strategy and accessibility to services and facilities.
the creation of a permanent dwelling
- Authority
- Ashford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Grierson E
- Postcode
- TN26 2EQ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location for new housing with regard to the local development strategy and accessibility to services and facilities
- the effect of the proposed development on highway safety
- the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area
What decided it
The proposal's location outside the settlement boundary in an unsustainable location requiring reliance on private vehicles, combined with likely highway safety harm, substantially outweighed the modest housing benefit of a single dwelling even with a moderate shortfall in five-year housing land supply.
The adverse impacts of granting permission—unsustainable location and highway safety harm—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of adding one dwelling to housing supply, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy HOU5Policy SP1Policy TRA3Policy TRA7Policy SP6Policy ENV3aPolicy HOU10
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 83Paragraph 84Paragraph 110
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.