The Parsonage House, 90 High Street, Watchfield, Swindon, SN6 8SW

Authority: Vale of White Horse
Appeal type: Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Postcode: SN6 8SW

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on protected species

What decided it

The failure to demonstrate through professional ecological survey that the proposed development would not have an adverse impact on protected species, particularly bats and badgers, in conflict with Core Policy 46 of the Local Plan.

The private benefits of additional accommodation and improved access were not sufficient to outweigh the significant weight given to the conflict with Core Policy 46 of the Local Plan regarding protected species.

Plan policies cited: Core Policy 46 of the Local Plan 2031 Part 1: Strategic Sites and Policies

Judgments cited: Morge v Hampshire CC [2011] UKSC 2

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.

Town Planner Pro

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.

Join the waiting list

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every other appeal around it, with the full reasoning summary, the letter held on file, and the case law it applies.