®Planning appeal decision
Assemble Spaces, Albert Hall Albert Street, WHITSTABLE, CT5 1HT
Change of Use of existing Hall to 2No. 3-bed dwellings (following partial demolition) and erection of 2No. two-storey, 3-bed dwellings (with accommodation in the roof space) with parking and external amenity space
- Authority
- Canterbury City Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Glassar S
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the loss of a community facility
- the effect of the proposed development on the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay SPA and Thames, Medway & Swale SPA
What decided it
The financial contribution towards SPA mitigation measures secured through unilateral undertaking was sufficient to address the adverse effects on the protected sites, and the loss of community facility was not unjustified given the marketing evidence and financial constraints on alternative uses.
The benefits of housing delivery, supported by the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, were balanced against the loss of a community facility and ecological impacts; the ecological impacts were mitigated through the financial contribution, and the community facility loss was not unjustified, allowing the appeal to proceed.
Plan policies cited: Policy QL6, Policy SP1, Policy SP6, Policy LB5
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.