Thornby Lodge, Consall Forge, Wetley Rock, ST9 0AJ

Authority: Staffordshire Moorlands
Appeal type: householder · Householder
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Postcode: ST9 0AJ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework and relevant development plan policies
Effect on Green Belt openness
Effect on the character and appearance of the site and surroundings
Effect on the setting of nearby heritage assets
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 proposal

What decided it

The material fallback position provided by the lawful development certificate for an almost identical building, combined with the moderate weight given to providing accommodation for a disabled relative, clearly outweighed the harm from inappropriateness and Green Belt openness loss.

Framework references: 143, 153, 154, 155

Plan policies cited: Policy SS10, Policy DC1, Policy DC3

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.