Spring Lane Nurseries, Spring Lane, Croft, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 7AS

Change of use of land to use as residential caravan site for 5 gypsy/traveller families, each with two caravans including no more than one static caravan/mobile home, together with the laying of hardstanding and erection of communal amenity building

Authority: Warrington Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: caravan-gypsy · Major traveller and caravan pitches
Inspector: Rose D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the planning application and the subsequent appeal is invalid

What decided it

The absence of an accurate pre-degradation Biodiversity Net Gain baseline, which could not be substituted by a condition, rendered the underlying planning application invalid and therefore deprived the Secretary of State of jurisdiction to determine the appeal.

Judgments cited: Maximus Networks Ltd and SSCLG and Southwark London Borough Council and (2) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

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