Land At Gibbshaven Farm, North Of Felbridge Road, Furnace Wood , West Sussex, RH19 2SJ

outline application with all matters reserved except for access from Felbridge Road, for the erection of up to 8 self/custom-build dwellings, public open space, new woodland, drainage and ancillary works

Authority: Mid Sussex District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Housden C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect on the character and appearance of the area, including loss of trees
the demand for and supply of self-build and custom housing

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, combined with the Council's failure to meet its statutory duty to provide sufficient self-build and custom housing plots, engaged the presumption in favour of sustainable development, which outweighed the limited harm to character and appearance.

The limited harm to character and appearance and conflict with the development plan were outweighed by the significant social benefits of housing delivery (including self-build and custom housing and affordable housing), the limited environmental benefits (biodiversity net gain and proximity to public transport), and the presumption in favour of sustainable development arising from the housing land supply shortfall and self-build housing shortfall.

Framework references: 11, 14, 58, 61, 110, 135, 143, 187

Plan policies cited: Policy DP12, Policy DP13, Policy DP37, Policy DP4, Policy DP6, Policy DP31, Policy CDNP05, Policy CDNP08

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.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.