The Lighthouse Inn, 111 Old Dover Road, Capel-Le-Ferne, FOLKESTONE, CT18 7HT

for a partial change of use and conversion to care home

Authority: Dover District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: community-institutional · Change of use
Inspector: Jolly J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the loss of tourist accommodation has been justified
the effect of the proposal on the Coastal Change Management Area
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including the setting of the Kent Downs National Landscape and Heritage Coast
the effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the neighbouring occupiers

What decided it

The harm to character and appearance of the area and the setting of the Kent Downs National Landscape, combined with unacceptable overlooking impacts on neighbouring living conditions, significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits of the care home provision.

Framework references: 184, 135, 139, 187

Plan policies cited: Policy E4, Policy CC7, Policy PM1, Policy NE2

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.