College Road Nurseries, Hextable, Swanley, BR8 7LT

development of between 7 and 9 new dwellings

Authority: Sevenoaks
Appeal type: minor · Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Postcode: BR8 7LT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is suitable for residential development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development

What decided it

The proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt because it fails to satisfy the sustainability criterion at Framework paragraph 155(c), and the modest housing benefit would not clearly outweigh the substantial harm to Green Belt openness and other harms.

The substantial harm to Green Belt openness and the significant weight of the conflict with CS Policy SP7 regarding efficient use of land were not clearly outweighed by the moderate weight of the housing contribution and modest economic and environmental benefits, and very special circumstances were not established.

Framework references: 142, 155, 143, 110, 115, 129, 130, 152, 153

Plan policies cited: Policy LO8, Policy LO1, Policy SP7

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.

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