Abbots Leigh, Washington Road, Storrington, West Sussex, RH20 4AF

‘outline planning application with all matters reserved apart from access for 1no. 4-bedroom dwelling with associated private garden space, car parking and landscaping’

Authority: Horsham District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Walker C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the appeal site is a suitable location for the development, having particular regard to relevant provisions of the development plan and the Framework
the effect of the development on the integrity of the Arun Valley sites

What decided it

The development would likely have a significant adverse effect on the integrity of the Arun Valley Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and Ramsar site because the submitted Unilateral Undertaking did not adequately secure the water neutrality mitigation required by the Habitats Regulations.

The small but important boost in housing supply, the site's location on previously developed land accessible to local services, and the temporary construction jobs weighed heavily in favour, but the substantial weight attached to the likely significant adverse effect on the integrity of the Arun Valley sites and conflict with the development plan as a whole outweighed these material considerations.

Framework references: 11, 193

Plan policies cited: HDPF Policy 2, HDPF Policy 3, HDPF Policy 4, HDPF Policy 26, HDPF Policy 31, NP Policy 1

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.