®Planning appeal decision
Land to the side and to the rear of no. 59 Wayside Road, St Leonards, BH24 2SJ
Demolish the structures and erect a detached bungalow with vehicular access
- Authority
- Dorset
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning
- Procedure
- Written
- Development
- residential
- Postcode
- BH24 2SJ
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposal on the integrity of the New Forest and Dorset Heathlands protected habitats
- Whether the appeal site would be a suitable location for the proposed dwelling, having regard for the local spatial strategy
- The effect of the proposal on flood risk in the area
What decided it
The failure to secure the necessary mitigation for impacts on New Forest protected habitats through a legal agreement, combined with unresolved flood risk and conflict with the local spatial strategy, meant the proposal was not sustainable development despite the housing land supply shortfall.
The significant benefit of contributing to housing supply in a district with critically low housing land supply (2.53 years) and other social and economic benefits were outweighed by significant harm to protected habitats (New Forest and Dorset Heathlands), unresolved flood risk, and conflict with the local spatial strategy, as the Framework's presumption in favour of sustainable development does not apply where a project is likely to have significant effects on habitat sites.
Framework references: 11, 154
Plan policies cited: Policy KS2 of the Christchurch and East Dorset Local Plan Part 1 Core Strategy, Policy ME6 of the Core Strategy
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.