Currently Vacant Field, Plot Off School Lane, Macclesfield, SK10 4SG

the development of an infill plot to provide a subterranean dwelling with associated landscaping

Authority: Cheshire East
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Partington A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether or not the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework
The effect of the proposal on the openness and purposes of the Green Belt
Whether or not the proposed development would be provided with a safe and suitable access
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 required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The site qualifies as grey belt land under NPPF paragraph 155 criteria, with demonstrable unmet housing need and a relatively accessible location for a rural area, such that the development is not inappropriate in the Green Belt and no very special circumstances are required.

Framework references: 11, 110, 115, 143, 154, 155, 156, 157

Plan policies cited: Policy PG3, Policy PG2, Policy PG6, Policy SD1, Policy INF3, Policy SE1, Policy SE4, Policy SE5, Policy ENV5

Judgments cited: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, R (on the application of) v Epping Forest District Council & Anor (Rev 1) [2016] EWCA Civ 404

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.