Land Adjacent To Highway House, 193 New Road, Chatham, ME4 4QA

construction of new block of three flats with associated refuse and cycle storage

Authority: Medway Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Miles H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
the quality of living conditions of future occupiers

What decided it

The serious adverse effects on character and appearance combined with unacceptable living conditions for future occupiers significantly and demonstrably outweigh the modest housing benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole.

The modest benefits of three dwellings in a highly accessible location with housing shortfall were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by serious adverse effects on character and appearance and living conditions, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy BNE1, Policy BNE2, Policy H06

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.