®Planning appeal decision
Land to the Rear of 166 Booths Brow Road, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 0NG
Planning appeal 6004822 at Land to the Rear of 166 Booths Brow Road, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 0NG (Wigan) was dismissed on 3 June 2026 by Inspector R Major, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt.
full planning application including reserved matters for the erection of a single storey detached dwelling, seeking approval of access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale
- Authority
- Wigan
- Appeal type
- Planning
- Procedure
- Written
- Development
- residential
- Inspector
- R Major
- Postcode
- WN4 0NG
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt
- the effect of the proposed development on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
- whether the proposed development meets statutory biodiversity net gain objectives
- if the development is 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 necessary to justify the development
What decided it
The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt that causes moderate harm to openness and countryside safeguarding, combined with failure to provide the statutory biodiversity metric, and these harms are not clearly outweighed by the limited benefits of one additional dwelling and short-term economic gains.
The benefits of housing delivery and economic benefits were outweighed by the substantial harm from inappropriateness in the Green Belt, moderate harm to openness and countryside safeguarding, and the significant harm arising from failure to meet statutory biodiversity net gain information requirements.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy JP-G9Policy JP-G8
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 142Paragraph 143Paragraph 153Paragraph 154Paragraph 155Paragraph 73
- Judgments
- Julian Wood v SSCLG, Gravesham Borough Council [2015] EWVA Civ 195
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 appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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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.