Comforts Farm, Pallance Road, Cowes, IoW, PO31 8LS

outline application for 14 dwellings, with approval sought for access, layout and scale

Authority: Isle of Wight Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Nicholls H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the location of the development would accord with local policies for new housing
whether future occupiers would have genuine choices as to how to access facilities beyond the private vehicle and whether there would be any prejudice to the safety of highway users
the effects of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
whether the appeal proposal would adequately respond to local housing needs, including the provision of affordable housing
the effects of the proposal on the SPA
the effects of the proposal on the frontage hedgerow
whether the proposal would secure Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
whether the scheme would be served by adequate means of drainage

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, combined with the significant benefits of housing delivery and associated improvements outweighing the identified harms, engaged and satisfied the tilted balance test under NPPF paragraph 11(d).

The identified harms (conflicts with sustainable travel and highway safety policies, harm to character and appearance, mismatch with housing needs, and drainage concerns) do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits (delivery of 14 dwellings in an undersupply context, affordable housing contribution, bus stop improvements, footpath enhancements, BNG and ecological enhancement), and the benefits materially outweigh the harms.

Framework references: 11, 58

Plan policies cited: Core Strategy policy SP1, Core Strategy policy SP7, Core Strategy policy DM2, Core Strategy policy DM3, Core Strategy policy DM4, Core Strategy policy DM5, Core Strategy policy DM12, Core Strategy policy DM14, Core Strategy policy DM17, Core Strategy policy E2, Core Strategy policy D2, Core Strategy policy DM11, GNDP policy H1.1, GNDP policy H1.2, GNDP policy T3, GNDP policy E2

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.