®Planning appeal decision
Alexandra Cottage, Batts Bridge Road, Piltdown, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3XP
a three bedroom chalet bungalow to replace garage
- Authority
- Wealden District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Murphy S
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for the proposal having regard to its accessibility to services and facilities, development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework
- whether the proposal would make adequate provision for Biodiversity Net Gain
- the effect of the proposal on the integrity of the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area
What decided it
The unmitigated significant harm to the integrity of Ashdown Forest SPA, combined with the unsustainable location and failure to secure adequate biodiversity net gain, outweighed the modest benefits of delivering one additional dwelling in an area with housing land supply shortfall.
The substantial harm from policy conflicts regarding location sustainability, biodiversity net gain, and unmitigated SPA impacts, together with the lack of a completed Section 106 agreement to secure mitigation, outweighed the modest benefits of delivering one additional dwelling and the use of previously developed land, particularly as the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply due to the strong reason for refusal relating to the SPA.
Framework references: 83, 7, 109, 115, 117, 73, 124, 11, 194
Plan policies cited: Saved Policy GD2, Saved Policy DC17, Policy WCS6, Policy EN1, Policy WCS14, Policy SPO7, Policy SPO14, Policy WC12, Saved Policy EN15, Policy WCS12
Judgments cited: Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin)
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.