Shrub Cottage, Denstone Lane, Alton, Staffordshire, ST10 4DE

Planning appeal 3371465 at Shrub Cottage, Denstone Lane, Alton, Staffordshire, ST10 4DE (Staffordshire Moorlands District Council) was dismissed on 26 November 2025 by Inspector Love D, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for housing, having regard to development plan policies for housing in the countryside.

a single self-build dwelling

Authority: Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Love D
Postcode: ST10 4DE

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for housing, having regard to development plan policies for housing in the countryside
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The adverse impacts of harm to the spatial strategy and character and appearance of the area significantly and demonstrably outweigh the minor benefits of housing delivery and self-build provision when assessed against NPPF policies as a whole.

The minor benefits of adding one dwelling to the housing market and limited social and economic benefits were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by harm to the spatial strategy and character and appearance of the area, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy SS1Policy SS10Policy H1Policy DC1
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 11

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in Staffordshire Moorlands

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

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Allowed26 March 20253351035
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Mobberley, Cheadle, Staffordshire, ST10 1TN

The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.