West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 15 June 2021 by C McDonagh BA (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 14 July 2021 Appeal Ref: APP/A2525/W/21/3270701 West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 0PN • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant outline planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr N Shortland against the decision of South Holland District Council. • The application Ref H07-0709-20, dated 26 August 2020, was refused by notice dated 27 October 2020. • The development proposed is residential development. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The planning application was submitted in outline form with all matters reserved for future consideration. I have determined the appeal on this basis, considering the submitted layout plan as illustrative only. Main Issue 3. The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area. Reasons 4. The appeal site is located on agricultural land with access from West Drove South, a narrow lane lined by houses of varying styles and sizes.

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision The houses form a fairly consistent building line with most having a generous set back from the road. The submitted Location and Site Plan indicates two detached dwellings would be erected with the existing access from West Drove South utilised. 5. Policy 1 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan (2019) (the LP) sets out the spatial strategy for South East Lincolnshire, with a hierarchy of settlements based on their sustainability. The appeal site lies outside of the Gedney Hill Settlement Boundary and as such is considered to be located in the countryside in planning terms. Development in these locations will be permitted that is necessary to such a location and/or where it can be demonstrated that it meets the sustainable development needs of the area in terms of the economic, community or environmental benefits. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/A2525/W/21/3270701 6. Gedney Hill displays a strong linear pattern of development, with housing predominantly fronting the roads of the village. The proposed development would not front a road and would be located behind existing dwellings lining West Drove South and Mill Lane. This would be contrary to the historic pattern of development of the settlement and would harm its character and appearance as a result. 7. I am aware that an agricultural building1 on the site has permission for conversion to a dwelling. I have not been provided with the plans or other supporting material that led to this decision. However, this appears to have been granted under the prior approval procedure. This would have had its own limitations and considerations defined within the relevant section of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. In any event, I have an appeal for planning permission before me which I have considered accordingly on its own merits. 8. Accordingly, the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the area contrary to Policies 1, 2 and 3 of the LP.

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision These seek to ensure development outside of defined settlement boundaries meets the sustainable development needs of the area in terms of economic, community or environmental benefits while also complementing historic street patterns. The proposal would also be contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework), particularly paragraph 127 which advocates developments which are sympathetic to local character and history, including the surrounding built environment. Planning Balance 9. The appellant argues there is a shortfall of new homes delivered in Gedney Hill when assessed against the allocation in the LP. I have no evidence of this before me, although the Council argues it can demonstrate a supply of deliverable housing in excess of 9 years. In any event, even if the application of paragraph 11(d) of the Framework were necessary, consideration must be had as to whether the adverse impacts of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole. 10. I note the contention that the nursery business is slowing down.

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision Be that as it may, the appeal site would cause harm to the character and appearance of the local area as I have identified. I am informed of other planning applications approved by the council in the area. However, I have no information on any of these. As such I cannot be certain of any parallels between them and the proposal before. 11. Set against the identified harm to the character and appearance of the area, the benefits associated with two dwellings would be limited taking account of the objective of boosting significantly the supply of housing in the Framework and given the Council’s housing land supply position. 12. Therefore, taking into account all these matters, the adverse impacts of the development would significantly outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the LP and the aims of the Framework. 1 H07-0244-20 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/A2525/W/21/3270701 Conclusion 13. The proposal would harm the character and appearance of the area. As such it would conflict with the development plan taken as a whole. There are no material considerations that indicate the decision should be made other than in accordance with the development plan. Therefore, for the reasons given, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

West Drove South, Gedney Hill, Lincs — South Holland District Council — C McDonagh INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3