®Planning appeal decision
Mission Hall, Bells Hill Road, Vange, Essex, SS16 5JY
change of use of existing mission building into one bedroom dwelling
- Authority
- Thurrock Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Fern L
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposed loss of a community facility would be justified
- whether the proposal would satisfy the requirements of the statutory framework for biodiversity net gain
What decided it
The doubtful compliance with the statutory framework for biodiversity net gain, which the Inspector found to be of such importance as to have paramountcy over the presumption in favour of sustainable development, outweighed the housing benefits and the moderate harm from loss of the community facility.
The moderate harm from loss of the community facility and conflict with the development plan, together with the considerable harm from non-compliance with the statutory BNG framework, outweighed the significant benefits of housing delivery and efficient use of a previously developed site, with the BNG non-compliance having paramountcy over the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
Framework references: 98, 187, 11
Plan policies cited: Policy CSTP10
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.