The Pond, Trewen Land, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 8QF

change of use of land to residential and the siting of a static caravan on concrete base with parking for one car

Authority: Cornwall Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: caravan-gypsy · Change of use
Inspector: Leonard S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the appeal site is a suitable location for the proposal, having particular regard to the development plan spatial strategy for new housing
The effect of the proposal on the landscape character and appearance of the area
Whether the proposal would deliver statutory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements

What decided it

The unsustainable location of the site conflicting with the Council's spatial strategy, combined with harm to landscape character and unresolved biodiversity net gain requirements, significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of the scheme.

The significant harms from undermining the Council's spatial strategy, poor accessibility and harm to the natural environment significantly and demonstrably outweighed the moderate housing, economic and social benefits, tipping the balance against the proposal.

Framework references: 8, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 1, Policy 2, Policy 3, Policy 7, Policy 9, Policy 12, Policy 21, Policy 23, Saved Policy ENV1, Policy G2

Judgments cited: Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823

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.