Appeal dismissed

[mrbees]

Hi,

Been waiting to hear back from the planning inspector before i posted.

Sadly decision dismissed.

We started our journey back in Feb 2018 contacting an architect to come and have a look ant our large garden/shed/tennis court which has now turned back into a garden,own separate drive accessed via slip road,all road fronted,the site is outside settlement boundary by 150 meters.Our house is in a row of 4 detached houses but the nearest to boundary,the other end of row of houses is open country side.

Topography survey first followed by architect drawing some plans up,then pre app meeting.

Outside settlement boundary and not sustainable.There is spar shop,pub,restaurant,garage,hotel,garden center 800 meters away that is accessed by a pavement,bus stop outside the site and also a bus stop 800 meters away that run every hour,that will get you to newport town center,chepstow.

Planning officer says buses to infrequent,planning inspector saying to intermittent.

Contacted our local councilor,he came and had a look at the site,his thoughts were that site is not encroaching into open countryside but moving towards urbanization area.

Got a planning consultant on board drew up planning statement and applied for planning permission.

Refused not sustainable outside boundary.No objections neighbours,community council,water board,highways.

Local councilor called to committee,but we lost by 1 vote.

Appeal statement sent of to planning inspectorate also letter from our councilor pointing out the site is sustainable.

Planning inspector refused/dismissed what ever you want to call it.Main issue is sustainability,there were a few other points that were taken from Planning Policy Wales.

This has cost us £4500 and it feels though we have robbed.

I would appreciate if anybody could give me guidance of what to do next.

 

Regards Nick 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jack]

Welcome to BuildHub.

 

It sounds like a long and frustrating experience - you have my sympathy. 

 

Perhaps the best advice is to look at the appeal decision and analyse the specific reasons for rejection. Can you modify your scheme to address each and every one of those reasons? If so, you could consider submitting a new application, and make it clear in your covering letter that the new scheme addresses the reasons in the appeal decision.

 

Either way, at this stage your main aim would be to get the council to approve something without the need for a further appeal, so I wonder whether opening a dialogue with them might be productive. What's your relationship like with the planning department and councillors?

[Ferdinand]

Hi @mrbees

 

Sorry to hear that, and on the day that one of our members has won on Appeal after a two year process.

So at least there is hope. There are also strategies, some of which are stories from members here.

 

Can you first explain what your objective is, and desired outcome, (i e what do you want to build and what will it be used for) and perhaps post a site plan / site location plan and more detail of the reasons for refusal. Then we can ask more question to help focus our ideas.

 

That you lost by a single vote at PC may be cause for a grain for optimism; perhaps you just need a mafioso ?.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Ferdinand

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, mrbees said:

[...]

Planning inspector refused/dismissed what ever you want to call it. Main issue is sustainability,there were a few other points that were taken from Planning Policy Wales.

[...]

I would appreciate if anybody could give me guidance of what to do next.

[...]

 

Welcome: I wish we'd met  under happier circumstances. I haven't got good news for you - maybe a chink of light, but a very small one

 

You can Appeal to the High Court. Thats not an easy thing to do. The appeal needs to show that an error was made by The Inspectorate. In other words,  you can't argue merely that the decision-maker should have reached a different conclusion.

 

Here's the tiny chink of light: the meaning of the word sustainability has changed over time. The issue is sharply illustrated by our planning application - which succeeded. The next door's application was rejected - at Appeal: reason? Unsustainable. The plots of land are 20 meters apart. In Planning terms, there is absolutely no difference whatsoever between our application and theirs. None.

Ours was accepted, the neighbours rejected. On grounds of sustainability.

 

The only difference in the two applications was time. Our neighbours applied one year later: the meaning of sustainability changed over what in planning timescales is a heartbeat. And it will continue to change.

Follow this little bit of logic - if the UK has the odd financial bump and bang in the near future  one of the quickest ways of keeping the country going is to keep white van man working. How do you do that? Relax planning legislation - so its not too far fetched to suppose that the meaning of the word sustainable will, over time change further.

Gorgeous George (Osbourne)  changed the planning legislation by changing the law such that permission should be granted  in favour of sustainable development. Little wonder then that the LAs focus on the word sustainable to clamp down on permission permits.

 

Your refusal is quite clearly the result of a political decision. And that means the policy can change. Not sure how likely, or when, but the worse the finances of the UK get, the likelier it is for the regs to be relaxed.

Sorry, its not much hope but it is some hope.

 

 

[Mr Punter]

I assume your appeal failed because you are 150m outside the settlement boundary.

 

Half a mile to the nearest facilities is not really what they are looking for and I doubt in reality if anyone in the 4 houses travels anywhere other than by car. I have however seen a case where the developer made a contribution to a cycle path, included some social housing and was consented a scheme outside the boundary.

 

I know you feel you have been robbed but you gambled £4500 with the hope of a profit of £150,000 and it did not come off.

 

Who owns the 150m of land? If you went in jointly with them with a scheme to do multiple units it could be a useful windfall site for the LA.

 

If the LA are keen, you could go with it, if they are not, you could re submit similar to your current application, perhaps a small bungalow, as it would then be the lesser of 2 evils.

[lizzie]

Go back to your planning consultant they should be offering you some ideas on a way forward, if there is one.