Heath House, Blackheath Lane, Blackheath, Surrey, GU4 8RB

change of use of ancillary outbuilding to independent residential dwelling

Authority: Waverley Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Catcheside E

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is suitable for the proposed development, having particular regard to the spatial strategy set out in the development plan and accessibility to services and facilities by sustainable travel modes

What decided it

The serious shortage of housing land supply (1.28 years) and the urgent need for housing, combined with the re-use of an existing building and the availability of onward sustainable travel options to larger settlements, outweighed the conflict with the spatial strategy and sustainable travel policies of the development plan.

The adverse impacts of granting permission, being conflict with the development plan's spatial strategy and sustainable travel policies, did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of supporting housing supply in the context of a serious shortfall of 1.28 years.

Framework references: 84, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy SP2, Policy ST1, Policy DM15, Policy DM9

Judgments cited: Braintree DC v SSCLG, Greyread Ltd & Granville Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 610; Julian Wood v SSCLG and Gravesham Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 195

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.

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