®Planning appeal decision
58 Otterden Close, Stanhope, Kent, TN23 5TH
Planning appeal 3372707 at 58 Otterden Close, Stanhope, Kent, TN23 5TH (Ashford Borough Council) was dismissed on 17 December 2025 by Inspector Courtney T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.
the creation of a 3-bedroom semi-detached house with associated parking and garden land
- Authority
- Ashford Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Courtney T
- Postcode
- TN23 5TH
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
- the effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the neighbouring occupiers at no 59 Otterden Close with particular regard to outlook, light and sense of enclosure
- whether the proposed development would provide adequate living conditions for existing and future occupiers with regard to the provision of external amenity space
- the effect of the proposal on highway safety with respect to the provision of adequate parking
What decided it
The significant harm to the character and appearance of the area and the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers substantially and demonstrably outweighed the moderate benefits of housing delivery.
The moderate benefits of providing an additional dwelling in a location with housing undersupply were substantially and demonstrably outweighed by the significant harm to character and appearance and the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy SP6Policy HOU3aPolicy SP1Policy HOU15Policy TRA3aPolicy TRA6Policy TRA7
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 7
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.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Ashford Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
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- Dismissed7 April 20266003396Barn South of Chart Court Barn, Pluckley Road, Little Chart, Ashford, Kent, TN27 0QH
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.