Land At 353314 146683 Glencot Road , Wookey Hole, Wells, BA5 2NU

erection of up to 78 dwellings with public open space, landscaping , sustainable drainage system and vehicular access point

Authority: Somerset Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Webb B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to its effects on the character and appearance of the area.

What decided it

The social and economic benefits of the housing scheme, including its contribution to a significant shortfall in the Council's five-year housing land supply, outweighed the identified harm to character and appearance and hedgerow/tree loss.

The benefits of up to 78 dwellings (40% affordable) and their contribution to the significant 5YHLS shortfall outweighed the harm from loss of hedgerow and the mature oak tree T28, such that no unacceptable harm would result despite conflict with parts of the development plan.

Framework references: 58

Plan policies cited: Core Policy 1, Core Policy 4, Core Policy 10, Policy DP1, Policy DP7

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.