Town Planner Pro
Free trial
Search appeal decisions

Planning appeal decision

Dismissed9 September 20266007464

20 Park Hill, Harpenden, AL5 3AT

Planning appeal 6007464 at 20 Park Hill, Harpenden, AL5 3AT (St Albans City Council) was dismissed on 9 September 2026 by Inspector B Plenty, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposed development on protected species, namely bats.

Energy efficiency improvements to the existing house; demolition of existing garage and conservatory; erection of a two-storey side extension and a one-storey outbuilding in the rear garden

Authority
St Albans City Council
Appeal type
householder · Householder
Procedure
Written
Development
residential
Inspector
B Plenty
Postcode
AL5 3AT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the effect of the proposed development on protected species, namely bats
  • the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The absence of a Preliminary Roost Assessment to establish whether bats would be affected by the proposed roof modifications, combined with the absence of exceptional circumstances to justify imposing a condition requiring such a survey, meant insufficient information existed to comply with the Habitat Regulations and Policy 106.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy 106 of the City and District of St Albans District Local Plan Review (1994)Policy 69 of the City and District of St Albans District Local Plan Review (1994)Policy 72 of the City and District of St Albans District Local Plan Review (1994)Policy ESD1 of the Harpenden Neighbourhood Plan 2018-2033Policy ESD2 of the Harpenden Neighbourhood Plan 2018-2033

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

Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.

Appeals plan, £15 a month

With an account

What an account adds to this decision

99 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
An appeal decision in the app, with the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out beside the letter
Every letter, there to read. We pick out the main issues, the policies and the judgments cited, so you can work through the letter faster.
Searching the full text of appeal decision letters in the app
Search inside every letter. By words or by meaning, filtered by authority, outcome, appeal type and procedure, with every locatable decision on the map and the Inspector named on each.
Start your free trial

More decisions in St Albans City Council

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

  1. Dismissed25 September 20266009808
    58 And 60 Waverley Road St, St Albans, St Albans, AL3 5PE
  2. Dismissed22 September 20266013802
    33 Oakfield Road, Harpenden, AL52NP
  3. Invalid17 September 20266008247
    18 Manland Way, Harpenden, AL5 4QS
  4. Planning permission granted15 September 20263311314
    Land at Former Butterfly World, Miriam Lane, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 3NY
  5. Notice upheld15 September 20263311308
    Land at Former Butterfly World, Miriam Lane, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 3NY

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.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.