Playing Fields, St Columbas College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4AW

addition of pathway lighting to serve existing access footpath

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other minor developments
Inspector: Street E

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would be inappropriate in the Green Belt
The effect of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
Whether the proposed development would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the St Albans Conservation Area
Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt that would reduce its openness, and the health and safety benefits do not amount to very special circumstances sufficient to outweigh this substantial harm.

Framework references: 154, 212, 13, 16

Plan policies cited: Policy 1 of the St Albans District Local Plan Review 1994

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.

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