®Planning appeal decision
Land south of Sandhill, Hermitage, Thatcham, RG18 9XU
‘Change of use of land for the formation of 5 Gypsy/Traveller pitches comprising of 1 mobile home, 1 touring caravan, and 1 utility building per pitch ’
- Authority
- West Berkshire District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Major traveller and caravan pitches
- Inspector
- Chamberlain G
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, especially the North Wessex Downs National Landscape (NL)
- The weight to be attached to intentional unauthorised development (IUD)
- Whether in a planning balance any harmful effects arising from the proposal would be outweighed by other considerations
What decided it
The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year supply of pitches, combined with the absence of alternative accommodation for the travellers, meant the limited landscape harm did not provide a strong reason to withhold permission under the tilted balance.
the advantages of the proposal, including the contribution to pitch supply, the absence of alternatives and wider sustainability benefits, outweighed the 'great weight' afforded to the limited harm to the National Landscape, and the collective adverse impacts including IUD did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits
Framework references: 11, 189
Plan policies cited: Policy SP2, Policy SP7, Policy SP8, Policy DM20, Policy DM1, Policy DM15, Policy HER2
Judgments cited: Monkhill Ltd v SSHCLG [2021]; R (Morris) v Wealden District Council [2014] EWHC 4081 (Admin
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.