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Dismissed14 July 20266002253

Land East Of Holywell Primary School, Forge Lane, Upchurch, ME9 7AD

Planning appeal 6002253 at Land East Of Holywell Primary School, Forge Lane, Upchurch, ME9 7AD (Swale) was dismissed on 14 July 2026 by Inspector Andrew Owen, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the development would be acceptably located with regard to the Council's settlement strategy.

the erection of 16 dwellings with associated parking and gardens and formation of additional dual purpose fenced and gated car park/ playground for Holywell Primary School, with creation of new access and egress points onto Forge Lane

Authority
Swale
Appeal type
major · Planning
Procedure
Written
Development
residential
Inspector
Andrew Owen
Postcode
ME9 7AD

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • whether the development would be acceptably located with regard to the Council's settlement strategy
  • the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
  • whether there is an appropriate mechanism to secure affordable housing on site
  • whether the development would result in the loss of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land

What decided it

The proposal's conflict with the settlement strategy in policy ST 3 and the substantial harm to character and appearance, which are consistent with the Framework, outweigh the benefits of housing delivery and other considerations in the planning balance.

The benefits of housing delivery (significant weight), economic benefits (moderate weight), social benefits from additional parking (modest weight), and environmental benefits from biodiversity net gain (modest weight) were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the substantial harm to character and appearance and the conflict with the spatial strategy (given limited weight as the strategy is out of date, but the character policies are given substantial weight as consistent with the Framework), and the conflict with sustainable location and design policies in the Framework (substantial weight).

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy ST 3Policy ST 1Policy DM 24Policy DM 14Policy CP 4Policy DM 8Policy CP 3Policy DM 31Policy DM 3
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11Paragraph 129Paragraph 135

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 applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Swale

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

  1. Dismissed13 October 20266004547
    Land at Plumpudding Lane, Dargate, ME13 9HB
  2. Allowed1 October 20266014749
    8, Ospringe Road, Faversham, ME13 7LJ
  3. Dismissed25 September 20266010408
    Pigeon Farm Cottage, Cold Harbour Lane, Bobbing, ME9 8NN
  4. Allowed6 August 20266011728
    Irie, Minster Drive, Minster-on-Sea, ME12 2NG
  5. Allowed8 July 20263376221
    Land West Of Borden Lane, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8HR

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.