Waterhall Farm, Lower Hatfield Road, Little Berkhamsted, SG13 8LE

‘demolition of six existing commercial (B2 & B8) buildings, to be replaced with three new purpose-built buildings in the same Use Class.’

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Minor general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector: Walker C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and any relevant development plan policies, including its effect on the openness of the Green Belt
if inappropriate, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The proposal constitutes partial redevelopment of previously developed land that would not cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt, satisfying the exception at NPPF paragraph 154(g) and therefore not representing inappropriate development.

Framework references: 154, 155

Plan policies cited: Policy GBR1, Policy TRA1, Policy DES4

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.

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