Home Spring, Houghton Road, North Houghton, Stockbridge, SO20 6LF

erection of self-build live-work building (with agricultural occupancy restriction tied to Home Spring Gardens Ltd) with associated parking and landscaping

Authority: Test Valley
Appeal type: Planning
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential
Postcode: SO20 6LF

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether there is an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at the appeal site, with specific regard to the existing horticultural business and whether that business is viable
the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, and whether it would preserve the significance of nearby listed buildings

What decided it

The less than substantial harm to the significance and setting of the Grade II listed Cottage was not outweighed by the modest public benefits, providing a strong reason for refusal that displaced the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

the modest benefits of the proposal, including self-build housing delivery and economic/social benefits, did not outweigh the less than substantial harm to the significance of the Grade II listed Cottage, so the appeal was dismissed

Framework references: 11, 58, 212, 215

Plan policies cited: Policy COM2, Policy COM10, Policy E1, Policy E9, Policy HTN1, Policy HTN4

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.