Oaks Farm, Hadleigh Road, Holton St Mary, CO7 6NW

Planning appeal 6007359 at Oaks Farm, Hadleigh Road, Holton St Mary, CO7 6NW (Babergh District Council) was allowed on 7 August 2026 by Inspector H Whitfield, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to relevant development plan policies for development outside of settlement boundaries.

an application for outline planning permission for the erection of 2 no. dwellings with means of access to be considered

Authority: Babergh District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Inspector: H Whitfield
Postcode: CO7 6NW

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the site is a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to relevant development plan policies for development outside of settlement boundaries
whether the proposed development would make adequate provision for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

What decided it

The fallback position of the prior approval for conversion of the existing barns to two dwellings under Class Q GPDO, which represents a realistic and undisputed material consideration that would result in no greater harm than the appeal scheme and therefore outweighs the identified conflict with the development plan.

The conflict with the development plan and Framework policies directing development to sustainable locations within settlement boundaries was outweighed by the substantial weight of the fallback position, which would result in no greater harm to the countryside character or sustainability of the location than the appeal scheme.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies: Policy SP03Policy LP04Policy SP09Policy LP16
National Planning Policy Framework: Paragraph 84

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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7 other decided appeals within two kilometres of this site. In the app every dot opens its decision, and its letter wherever one was published, and you can draw your own site to see what has been decided around it.AllowedDismissedSplitThis decision

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More decisions in Babergh District Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.