®Planning appeal decision
Land at the Junction of Welsh Road and Heath Lane, Welsh Road, Childer Thornton, Ellesmere Port, Ellsemere Port, Chester, CH66 5NS
Planning appeal 3360657 at Land at the Junction of Welsh Road and Heath Lane, Welsh Road, Childer Thornton, Ellesmere Port, Ellsemere Port, Chester, CH66 5NS (Cheshire West and Chester) was dismissed on 1 July 2025 by Inspector Hatfield T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and development plan policy.
the change of use of land to form a 8 pitch caravan site, each comprising a static caravan, a touring caravan and a brick built day room with associated parking and amenity space, to be occupied by Gypsies and Travellers, with the formation of a new access from Heath Lane, closing of an existing access on to Welsh Road (part retrospective)”
- Authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- caravan-gypsy · Minor traveller and caravan pitches
- Inspector
- Hatfield T
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and development plan policy
- The effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
- The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
- The effect of the proposal on protected species and biodiversity
- Whether the proposal would have adequate accessibility to local services and facilities by walking and/or public transport
- Whether the proposal would be served by a safe and suitable access
- If the proposal is inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development
What decided it
The absence of sufficient ecological assessment and biodiversity information meant the Inspector could not conclude that other considerations clearly outweighed the harm, and therefore very special circumstances did not exist to justify inappropriate Green Belt development.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy STRAT 9Policy SOC 4Policy ENV 6Policy GBC 2Policy DM 3Policy DM 44Policy DM 45Policy ENV 4Policy R1Policy STRAT 10Policy T 5
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 26Paragraph 110Paragraph 143Paragraph 153Paragraph 154
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
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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.