Land west of Main Street, Southorpe, PE2 3BX

a change of use of agricultural hardstanding for the siting of 18 self storage containers

Authority: Peterborough City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Brownless E

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposed development is in a suitable location with particular regard to development plan policies concerning the location of development within the countryside
the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
the effect of the proposed development on highway safety

What decided it

The proposal fails to accord with the development plan policies governing countryside location (LP2, LP4, LP11) and highway safety (LP13), and the material considerations in favour do not outweigh the significant harm to landscape character and highway safety.

The moderate weight given to economic benefits and support for rural business diversification was outweighed by the significant weight attached to the unsuitability of location in the countryside, harm to character and appearance, and failure to demonstrate safe access and highway safety.

Framework references: 85, 86, 88

Plan policies cited: Policy LP2, Policy LP11 Part G, Policy LP4, Policy LP16, Policy LP27, Policy LP13

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.

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