Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 23 October 2023 by Nick Davies BSc(Hons) BTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 30 October 2023 Appeal Ref: APP/Y9507/W/23/3316992 Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex GU28 0JS • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr & Mrs S A Haill against the decision of South Downs National Park Authority. • The application Ref SDNP/22/02956/FUL, dated 20 June 2022, was refused by notice dated 9 December 2022. • The development proposed is “Demolition of stables and pole barn. Construction of replacement building comprising a one-bedroom holiday let and vehicle store”. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issue 2. The main issue is the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the landscape and the intrinsic qualities of the South Downs National Park. Reasons 3. The stables and pole barn lie in a roughly L-shaped field that borders the domestic garden of Carriage House to the south. There is a large care home to the west and a loose line of dwellings, beyond an area of woodland, to the east.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision However, all of these buildings lie within a wide expanse of otherwise open countryside. The stables and pole barn are sited in the lowest part of the field, backed by the tall trees in the woodland. There is also substantial tree cover along the northern boundary so, together with the built development on the other two sides, the field is visually separated from the surrounding landscape. The buildings are set well back from Burton Park Road, and are accessed via a winding hedge-lined drive, so are not visible from the highway. 4. The buildings are in a poor state of repair, but their low profile, rustic materials, and secluded location mean that, although they cannot be described as a positive feature, they have become assimilated into the landscape and do not detract from its rural character. The replacement building would be in a similar location, but it would be considerably wider and higher, with a metal- clad exterior. It would, therefore, be a much more strident feature, with domestic scale windows and doors, giving it a residential appearance that would be uncharacteristic of its rural surroundings.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Furthermore, a considerable area of land in front of the building would be levelled and surfaced, with stone gabions installed to retain the sloping field beyond. The overall proposal would, therefore, have a much greater visual impact than the existing, rather unassuming buildings. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Furthermore, a considerable area of land in front of the building would be levelled and surfaced, with stone gabions installed to retain the sloping field beyond. The overall proposal would, therefore, have a much greater visual impact than the existing, rather unassuming buildings. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Y9507/W/23/3316992 5. The increased scale of the structure, the extensive excavations to provide the vehicle manoeuvring area, and the domestic appearance of the building, would result in the development being incongruous and harmful to the character of its rural surroundings. Notwithstanding this, the proposed building would be in the same location as the existing stables and pole barn, so would not intrude into the open gap between the site and the dwellings beyond the woodland. It would also be well-screened from most viewpoints by the adjacent woodland and boundary vegetation, and the existing buildings on two sides. Consequently, it would not be widely visible, so the harm to the landscape would be limited. Nevertheless, the development would not conserve and enhance landscape character, as required by Policy SD4 of the South Downs Local Plan (2014-33) (the Local Plan). 6. I have a duty, under Section 62 of the Environment Act 1995, to have regard to the purposes for which National Parks are designated. One of these is to conserve and enhance their natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Paragraph 176 of the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) also says great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, which have the highest status of protection in relation to these issues. Policy SD1 of the Local Plan says that permission will be refused where development fails to conserve the National Park landscape, unless there are overriding benefits, or the proposal substantially complies with other relevant policies in the development plan. 7. Policy SD23 of the Local Plan specifically addresses proposals for visitor accommodation. It draws on evidence from the Authority’s Visitor Accommodation Review (2015) and Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2015-20, which identified shortages of all types of holiday accommodation at peak times, a strong demand for high quality accommodation, and increasing demand for all types of accommodation in the future. Policy SD23 is positively worded, saying that proposals will be permitted where a range of criteria are satisfied.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision It does not require proposals to be located within settlement policy boundaries, but, where they are not, it requires that accommodation is closely associated with other attractions/established tourism uses, including the public rights of way (PROW) network. In this regard, the evidence indicates that the nearest PROW is within 400 metres, and the nearest long-distance PROW is within 800 metres. 8. However, outside settlement policy boundaries, Policy SD23 requires that proposals positively contribute to the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage of the National Park. I have already concluded above that the proposal would result in harm to the rural landscape. I acknowledge that there is some tension between Policy SD23 of the Local Plan, which encourages new visitor accommodation, and those policies that seek to conserve and enhance the landscape of the National Park, and that some balancing of these competing interests is necessary. Some limited landscape harm may be outweighed by the benefits of increased visitor accommodation. In this case, however, much of the landscape harm arises from the increased size of the building, and the enlarged hardstanding and manoeuvring area.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision These result mainly from the inclusion of the vehicle store, which would provide secure storage for the appellants’ motorhome and other vehicles, rather than providing any tourism benefits. The landscape harm resulting from this element of the proposal cannot, therefore, be outweighed by any support derived from Policy SD23. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision These result mainly from the inclusion of the vehicle store, which would provide secure storage for the appellants’ motorhome and other vehicles, rather than providing any tourism benefits. The landscape harm resulting from this element of the proposal cannot, therefore, be outweighed by any support derived from Policy SD23. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Y9507/W/23/3316992 9. It has been suggested that the vehicle store is supported by Policy SD31 of the Local Plan. However, the policy is entitled Extensions to Existing Dwellings and Provision of Annexes and Outbuildings. As the appeal site lies in a field outside the residential curtilage of Carriage House, it would not derive support from this policy. 10. The proposed holiday let would result in some additional activity within the site and on the surrounding roads. However, its small scale means that the impact would be very limited. The largely concealed location of the building means that any additional on-site activity would not be readily evident. Furthermore, it would be located close to a cluster of buildings, including a large care complex, which already result in a degree of activity. Overall, the relative tranquillity of the locality would not be significantly affected, so I find no conflict with Policy SD7 of the Local Plan. 11. I have been provided with little evidence by either party regarding compliance with the level of lighting protection set out in the table in Policy SD8 of the Local Plan. However, no external lighting is proposed.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision The holiday let would have limited window openings, and any light spill would not be readily evident from any public viewpoints, due to the level of tree screening. Furthermore, it is likely that curtains within the accommodation would be drawn after dark. Consequently, there would be insignificant impact on dark night skies, and I therefore find no conflict with Policy SD8. 12. The Council’s reason for refusal cites Policies SD9 and SD10 of the Local Plan, however, no evidence has been provided to demonstrate that there would be any harm to biodiversity or international wildlife sites as a result of the development. I therefore find no conflict with these policies. 13. In coming to my conclusion, I am mindful that paragraphs 84 and 85 of the Framework seek to support a prosperous rural economy, and advise that planning decisions should enable sustainable rural tourism. However, this is caveated by the need to respect the character of the countryside.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Appeal Decision I also acknowledge that one of the National Park purposes is to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of its special qualities by the public, and that, in pursuit of its purposes there is a duty to seek to foster the economic and social wellbeing of its local communities. However, where there is a conflict between the National Park purposes, greater weight should be attached to the conservation purpose. 14. The proposal would result in harm to the character and appearance of the National Park landscape, which would not be outweighed by the benefits to the rural economy through increased visitor accommodation. Consequently, it would be contrary to Policies SD1, SD4, SD5 and SD23 of the Local Plan which, taken together, seek to conserve the natural beauty and landscape character of the National Park, whilst allowing for appropriately located and well-designed visitor accommodation. Conclusion 15. For the reasons given above, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Carriage House, Burton Park Road, Barlavington, West Sussex, GU28 0JS — South Downs — Nick Davies INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3