Planning appeal decision
Old Shelve Farm, The Dairy, Ashford Road, Lenham, Kent, ME17 2DT
Planning appeal 3373706 at Old Shelve Farm, The Dairy, Ashford Road, Lenham, Kent, ME17 2DT (Maidstone Borough Council) was dismissed on 10 April 2026 by Inspector Praine N, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposed development upon the character and appearance of the area including the setting of the Grade II listed building.
the addition of four new rooflights
- Authority
- Maidstone Borough Council
- Appeal type
- householder · Householder (HAS)
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Householder developments
- Inspector
- Praine N
- Postcode
- ME17 2DT
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development upon the character and appearance of the area including the setting of the Grade II listed building
What decided it
The proposed rooflights would cause less than substantial but considerable harm to the setting of the listed building through domestication and disruption of the distinctive agricultural character of the road-facing elevation, and the claimed environmental and lighting benefits were insufficient to justify this harm.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- LPRSP9LPRQD4LPRSP15LPRENV1LPRSP14(B)
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 212Paragraph 213Paragraph 215
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 Maidstone Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026
- Dismissed29 October 2026601053621 Tasker Close, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME15 8NZ
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- Allowed27 October 20266011721Loxley House, Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, Maidstone, ME17 3NT
- Allowed27 October 20266011076Little Southernden, Southernden Road, Headcorn, TN27 9LL
- Allowed26 October 20266010539Land Rear Of 58 Church Street, Boughton Monchelsea, Maidstone, ME17 4HN
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.
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