LAND AT NORTHWICK ROAD, PILNING, BS354HF

change of use of land to a Gypsy and Traveller caravan site

Authority: South Gloucestershire Council
Appeal type: Planning
Procedure: Hearing
Development: caravan-gypsy
Postcode: BS35 4HF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

flood risk
the need for and the supply of Gypsy and Traveller pitches
whether the proposal would represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt
whether the site is in an appropriate location having regard to accessibility to services
the effect of the development on the setting and the significance of the Tower of the Church of St Thomas, a Grade II Listed Building

What decided it

The residual flood risk from a breach of coastal defences, which the Inspector found could not be safely managed for this highly vulnerable use, provided a strong reason to refuse the development notwithstanding the benefits.

Very great weight attached to the public benefits of meeting unmet Gypsy and Traveller pitch need and personal circumstances of the occupants did not outweigh the overriding harm from residual flood risk, so the balance tipped against allowing the appeal.

Framework references: 8, 9, 11, 110, 115, 153, 154, 155, 177, 181, 215

Plan policies cited: Policy CS9, Policy CS5, Policy CS1, Policy PSP20, Policy CS21, Policy CS8, Policy PSP11, Policy PSP40, Policy PSP17, Policy CS4, Policy CS4A

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.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.