Former M2 Commuter Car Park, Maidstone Road, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0LU

the material change of use for Gypsy/Traveller site - retrospective

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector: Griffiths P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the change of use on the character and appearance of the area
Whether the site provides reasonable living conditions for the occupiers in terms of the noise environment

What decided it

The Inspector's finding that the proposal complied with the relevant development plan policies (character/appearance and living conditions secured by condition), reinforced by the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year supply of Gypsy/Traveller sites and the best interests of the children on site.

the proposal accords with the development plan and no material considerations justified a contrary decision; even had harm to character and appearance arisen, the best interests of the children, the PSED and Article 8 rights would have provided sufficiently weighty material considerations to justify granting permission without recourse to the tilted balance

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy H13, Policy BNE1, Policy BNE2, Policy BNE25, Policy BNE35

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.