Land OS 8325 Off Queen Street, Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, Somerset, TA11 6FF

the erection of 30 No. dwellings (Use Class C3) with associated access, parking and landscaping

Authority: Somerset Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Conde L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
the setting of the Grade II listed building known as 'The Homestead'
the integrity of the Somerset Levels and Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar Site

What decided it

The substantial benefits of delivering 30 dwellings (including 11 affordable units) in an area with a significant housing land supply shortfall (2.11 years) outweighed the limited harm to character and appearance and less-than-substantial harm to the listed building setting, particularly where nutrient neutrality could be secured through an approved mitigation strategy.

The substantial benefits of housing delivery and affordable housing provision, together with socio-economic benefits and biodiversity net gain, outweighed the limited harm to character and appearance and less-than-substantial harm to the heritage asset, with the presumption in favour of sustainable development applying due to the Council's inability to demonstrate five-year housing land supply.

Framework references: 11, 55, 215

Plan policies cited: Policy EQ2, Policy EQ3, Policy EQ4, Policy EQ5, Policy HG1, Policy HG3, Policy SS1, Policy SS2, Policy SS6, Policy TA1, Policy TA5

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.

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