Barn at Otham Court Lane, POLEGATE, BN26 6QS

permission in principle application for the conversion and redevelopment of a former agricultural/equestrian building to create 3 dwellings

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

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the site is suitable for residential development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development

What decided it

The substantial and persistent shortage of housing land supply, combined with the site's proximity to Polegate and the environmental benefits of reusing an existing building, outweighed the conflict with restrictive development plan policies that are out of date.

the significant benefits of providing three new dwellings to address a substantial housing shortfall, supporting local businesses, and environmental benefits of reusing existing building fabric outweighed the conflict with the development plan

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy GD2, Policy DC8, Policy DC17, Policy SPO1, Policy SPO13, Policy WSC14

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.