Land at junction of Grappenhall Lane/Barleycastle Lane, Warrington, WA4 4QT

Bio-CNG vehicle fuelling facility comprising fuel dispenser islands, plant compound, landscaping, creation of access and associated highways works and development

Authority: Warrington Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other minor developments
Inspector: Bromley N

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the appeal scheme would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including assessing the effect of the appeal scheme on the openness of the Green Belt
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The significant weight attached to the renewable and low carbon energy benefits of the Bio-CNG facility under paragraph 168 of the Framework, combined with the facility's contribution to net zero and support for local haulage businesses, outweighed the moderate harm to character and appearance and loss of agricultural land.

Framework references: 11, 58, 110, 115, 143, 154, 155, 168

Plan policies cited: Policy GB1, Policy DC1, Policy DC6, Policy DC4, Policy ENV8

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.