Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 7 January 2025 by J Pearce MSc MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 6th February 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/J1535/W/24/3345159 Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, Epping CM16 6RZ • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Epping Essex Investments Ltd against the decision of Epping Forest District Council. • The application Ref is EPF/2470/23. • The development proposed is the addition of dormers and rooflights with extension to existing stair core to facilitate use of further floor of accommodation to provide 18 new rooms. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matter 2. The revised National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) was published on 12 December 2024 and is a material consideration in planning decisions. The parts of the Framework most relevant to the appeal have not substantively changed from the previous version. As a result, I consider that there is no requirement for me to seek further submissions in respect of these matters, and I am satisfied that no party’s interests would be prejudiced by taking this approach.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Main Issues 3. The main issues are the effect of the proposed development on: • the character and appearance of the area; • the integrity of the Epping Forest Special Area for Conservation; and • trees. Reasons Character and appearance 4. The appeal site is to the side of Epping Road (the A414) and includes a large, two- storey building. The building is perpendicular to the road and extends towards the rear of the site parallel to the side boundary. The external area of the site is primarily occupied by hardstanding forming the car park. A further, smaller building is present on site, which has an unusual roof form finished with a lower ridge height and several rooflights. 5. The main building has a functional character related to its original use as a hotel. The building incorporates a material finish and features, including the black https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/24/3345159 weatherboarding gables, that take into account the rural context of the site. The building, in particular the extensive roof, is visible within the landscape above the boundary planting. Stair cores extend beyond both ends of the building and are finished with a lower ridge height that make them appear subservient the main part of the building. The existing roofscape is unbroken and whilst punctuated by projecting gable features, the uninterrupted roof helps the building blend with the surround landscape. 6. The proposal would introduce a significant number of dormer windows and rooflights within both the front and rear roofslope. The dormer windows would be positioned away from the eaves and below the ridge of the building and would align with the existing ground and first floor openings. Nevertheless, the considerable number of openings would inundate the roofscape of the building and diminish its simple, unbroken appearance. Moreover, the addition of dormer windows and rooflights between the projecting gable features would appear cramped and would harm the overall character of the building.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Furthermore, the flat roof finish to the dormer windows would jar with the projecting gables forming the existing building and would not respect the architecture of the building. 7. The ridge of the stair core at either end of the building would be raised to provide access to the proposed second floor accommodation. While the increase in height would be limited, the ridge height would match that of the main part of the building. The raised height of the stair cores would increase the mass of the building at roof level and would add to the harm derived from the proposed dormer windows and rooflights. 8. The proposal includes limited alterations to the external areas of the site. The external areas comprise a car park and open areas to the side and rear of the building and includes limited amenity or play space for either existing or future occupants. The proposal includes no additional amenity or play space. While the limited changes to the external areas would not harm the character and appearance of the area, the proposal would not enhance the provision of shared communal amenity space and children’s play space as required by Policies SP2 and DM10. 9.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision I conclude that the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the area. The development therefore conflicts with Policies SP2, DM9 and DM10 of the Epping Forest District Local Plan 2011-2033 Part One 2023 (LP), as set out above and which collectively require proposals to relate positively to their locality, respect and/or complement the form and detailing of original buildings. Integrity of the Epping Forest Special Area for Conservation 10. The Epping Forest Special Area for Conservation (EFSAC) is a European Designated Site afforded protection under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 as amended (the Habitat Regulations). Permission may only be granted after having ascertained that the proposed development would not affect the European site’s integrity. 11. The EFSAC designation reflects the presence of the Stag beetle as a qualifying species, and 3 qualifying habitats; Northern Atlantic wet heaths with crossleaved heath, European dry heaths, and Atlantic beech forests on acid soils. The site’s conservation objectives are to ensure that its integrity is maintained or restored.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision It should also contribute to achieving the favourable conservation status of its https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision It should also contribute to achieving the favourable conservation status of its https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/24/3345159 qualifying features by maintaining or restoring the extent, distribution, structure and function of the qualifying habitats and the habitats of qualifying species; the supporting processes on which these rely; and the population and distribution of the qualifying species. 12. The pathways of impact are disturbance from recreational activities from new residents, and atmospheric pollution including ammonia and oxides of nitrogen resulting from increased nearby traffic and the age and mix of those vehicle types. The Council states that the site is outside of the 3-6.2 km Zone of Influence as identified in the Epping Forest Strategic Access Management and Monitoring Strategy and consequently a financial contribution in respect of disturbance from recreational activities is not applicable. 13. However, with relation to air pollution, a strategic mitigation approach is set by the Epping Forest Interim Air Pollution Mitigation Strategy for EFSAC 2020 (IAMPS). The IAMPS sets out the level of financial contribution that needs to be secured by certain types of residential and non-residential development in order to mitigate any effect on the EFSAC.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision In terms of the appeal development the APMS explains that other trip generating proposals will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Appendix 2 of the IAPMS sets out the site-specific assessment process, which requires the appellant to review the traffic generating characteristics of the site in further detail and assess any potential adverse effects on the EFSAC over and above that accounted for in the IAMPS. 14. The appellant states that, due to the nature of the accommodation proposed, car ownership would be either very low or non-existent. Accordingly, the traffic generated by the proposal would be very low or non-existent. Moreover, the appellant additionally states that the current use of the site generates considerably fewer traffic than the hotel use. However, while car ownership would be likely to be low, there is no substantive evidence before me that demonstrates the level of traffic that would be generated by the proposal, including if the accommodation is used in relation to the hotel use. In the absence of this evidence, I cannot be certain that the proposal would not result in an increase in traffic leading to atmospheric pollution. 15.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision The appellant contends that the hotel use would be unlikely to return and that a condition could be included, in the event that the appeal is allowed, that restricts the use of the proposed accommodation for short-term housing only. However, even if a condition could be included, the evidence before me does not demonstrate that the proposal would not lead to an increase in atmospheric pollution. 16. I cannot be certain that the proposal would not have adverse effects on the integrity of the EFSAC. The development would therefore conflict with Policy DM2 of the LP and Policy DM22 of the LP, which collectively seek to protect the integrity of the EFSAC and ensure that the District is protected from the impacts of air pollution. Trees 17. The hardstanding forming the car park extends towards the side and rear boundaries, which are primarily formed by trees and hedges. The proposal includes alterations to the car parking layout, including the provision of additional parking spaces. The submitted plans indicate that the additional spaces would https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/24/3345159 primarily utilise the existing hardstanding at the site and would likely require the cutting back of the boundary hedge. 18. The hardstanding would be extended close to the access from the A414 to accommodate parking space ‘P13’. While the extended hardstanding would result in the loss of an area of soft landscaping to the front of the site, this part of the site does not include any trees. Accordingly, given the limited extent of the proposal and the position in relation to trees and hedges, the development would safeguard the integrity of trees and hedges at the site. 19. I conclude that the proposal would not have a harmful effect on trees. The development therefore accords with Policy DM5 of the LP which, amongst other things, seeks to retain existing green infrastructure assets, including trees and hedgerows. Planning Balance 20. The Framework does not change the statutory status of the development plan as the starting point for decision making. The proposal is not in accordance with the aforementioned policies of the LP, with the associated conflict reflecting harm to the character and appearance of the area and the adverse effect on the integrity of the EFSAC.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision The proposal conflicts with the development plan as a whole and should be refused unless other material considerations indicate otherwise. 21. The Council has not disputed that it is failing to deliver its housing requirement for the purposes of the Housing Delivery Test. As such, paragraph 11 d) of the Framework indicates that permission should be granted unless the application of policies in this Framework that protect areas or assets of particular importance provides a strong reason for refusing the development proposed. Footnote 7 of the Framework details that this includes policies relating to habitats sites. 22. The proposal would make a positive contribution to housing delivery in the District, including for the needs of groups with specific housing requirements. However, these benefits are limited by the modest scale of the development proposed and would not outweigh the harm identified to the character and appearance of the area. 23. In any case, given that the proposal would have a harmful effect on the EFSAC, the application of the policies in the Framework provide a strong reason for refusing planning permission for the development proposed.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision When considered as a whole, the proposal does not conform with the presumption in favour of sustainable development outlined in Paragraph 11 of the Framework. Conclusion 24. The proposal conflicts with the development plan as a whole. The material considerations do not indicate that the appeal should be decided other than in accordance with it. For the reasons given above the appeal should be dismissed.

Phoenix Epping Hotel, Epping Road, North Weald, EPPING, CM16 6RZ — Epping Forest District Council — J Pearce INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4