Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 9 March 2022 by R Sabu BA(Hons), MA, BArch, PgDip, RIBA, ARB an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 29th March 2022 Appeal Ref: APP/Z1510/W/21/3281139 Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul CO9 2PU • 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 D Brett and Mrs J Andrews against the decision of Braintree District Council. • The application Ref 21/00954/OUT, dated 24 March 2021, was refused by notice dated 8 June 2021. • The development proposed is described as, ‘erection of 1 No. detached single storey dwelling with parking/garage and new vehicular access from Old Road’. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The application was made in outline with all matters except for access reserved for future consideration. I have therefore had regard to the submitted drawings insofar as they relate to access. 3. I note the Section 2 - Publication Draft Local Plan June 2017. However, since there is no certainty that the policies within will be adopted in their current form, I attribute them limited weight. Main Issue 4.

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision The main issue is whether the proposed development would provide a suitable location for housing with regard to the accessibility of services and facilities and the character and appearance of the area. Reasons 5. The sites outside the development boundary for Wickham St Paul which is a village with limited services and facilities. Moreover, while the village is a walkable distance away, the route lacks footpaths and streetlights such that it is likely that future occupiers would be largely reliant on the private vehicle for access to services and facilities. 6. I note that the scheme proposed a single dwelling whereas a previous scheme, which was dismissed at appeal, proposed four dwellings. While the number of trips generated by the proposed development would be lower than that resulting from the previous scheme, the proposal would nevertheless give rise to an adverse environmental effect in this respect. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Z1510/W/21/3281139 7. The area surrounding the site is largely characterised by open countryside and sporadic residential development. The site is an undeveloped plot that is in keeping with the open countryside to the north and east. While the site does not benefit from specific designations, given its undeveloped and green nature, it provides a positive contribution to the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and an attractive setting for the settlement. 8. The proposal would not only introduce built development to the site, but would also be likely to include a driveway, hardstanding and domestic paraphernalia that would urbanise the site and alter the landscape character of the area. 9. I acknowledge that the number of dwellings has been reduced from a previous scheme, and a greater part of the site would not have built development. I also note the comments of the previous Inspector. However, the proposed residential private amenity space would nevertheless be likely to result in domestic chattels that would unacceptably diminish the rural character and appearance of the area. 10.

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision While matters of scale, layout and appearance are for future consideration, it is likely that a dwelling would be visible from the highway given the limited depth of the plot. While landscaping could partially screen the dwelling, it would not entirely mitigate the urbanising effect that the proposal would have on the site. In addition, although the neighbouring plot is occupied by a dwelling, the scheme would extend the built-up area into the greenfield space and result in encroachment into the countryside. 11. Consequently, the proposed development would not provide a suitable location for housing with regard to the accessibility of services and facilities and the character and appearance of the area. Therefore, it would conflict with Policy RLP2 of the Braintree District Local Plan Review, Adopted Plan July 2005 (LPR) and Policy CS7 of the Core Strategy Adopted September 2011(CS) which direct new development to within Town Development Boundaries and Village Envelopes and provide future development in accessible locations to reduce the need to travel, among other things. 12.

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision The scheme would also conflict with LPR Policy RLP80 and CS Policies CS5 and CS8 which, among other things, resist development that would not successfully integrate into the local landscape and seek development in the countryside that protect and enhance its landscape character. It would also conflict with Policy SP3 of the North Essex Authorities’ Shared Strategic Section 1 Plan Adopted February 2021 which seeks to ensure that existing settlements maintain their distinctive character and to conserve their setting. The proposal would also conflict with the Framework in this respect. Other Matters 13. I note the comments of the Inspectors for the cases at Pebmarsh, Bradwell, Sible Hedingham and Stisted. However, these cases appear to be some distance from the appeal site and there is little detailed evidence before me to enable a direct comparison to be made with this appeal which must, in any event, be determined on its individual merits. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Z1510/W/21/3281139 Planning Balance 14. I note the evidence regarding housing land supply including the Government’s objective of significantly boosting housing supply and that the Council is able to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. 15. LPR Policy RLP2 directs development to within Town Development Boundaries and Village Envelopes and CS Policy CS5 strictly controls areas outside these settlements to uses appropriate to the countryside in order to protect and enhance the landscape character of the countryside. Since the housing requirement position has moved on since LPR Policy RLP2 was adopted and given that the National Planning Policy Framework takes a less restrictive approach than CS Policy CS5, these Policies are out-of-date and CS Policy CS5 is partially consistent with the Framework. I therefore attribute the conflict with these Policies limited weight. 16. The other policies cited by the Council in the decision notice generally seek development that integrate with the local landscape and enhance local character and distinctiveness. They also seek development in accessible locations and direct new development to larger settlements.

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — Appeal Decision As such, they are generally consistent with the Framework, and I attach them significant weight. 17. Given the harm to the character and appearance of the area and accessibility of services and facilities identified above, the proposal would conflict with the basket of policies relevant to the appeal, and the development plan as a whole. 18. The proposal would contribute a dwelling to the local housing supply. There would be temporary economic benefits during the construction phase, and I acknowledge that small and medium sized sites can contribute to meeting the housing requirement. Given the scale of the development, these benefits would be limited. 19. Therefore, given the significant harm to the character and appearance of the area and the accessibility of services and facilities as well as the conflict with the development plan as a whole, the adverse effects of the proposal would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits. Conclusion 20. For the reasons given above, the appeal is dismissed.

Land at Old Road, Wickham St Paul, Essex, CO9 2PU — Braintree District Council — R Sabu INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3