Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 15 May 2025 By Terrence Kemmann-Lane JP DipTP FRTPI MCMI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 28 May 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/U2615/W/25/3358397 Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, NR31 9DN • 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 Mr David Martin against the decision of Great Yarmouth Borough Council. • The application Ref is 06/24/0484/CU. • The development proposed is retrospective application for the stationing of a static caravan on the land for use as a worker’s shelter, for a temporary period until 30th April 2025 and to continue to use the site for storage of a mobile caravan for a temporary period until 31st August 2025. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary matters 2. The application form for the appeal proposal sought permission for “Temporary retention of existing Static Caravan till April 2025 when it will be removed”.

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision However, the delegated report identified the proposal as “Retrospective application for the stationing of a static caravan on the land for use as a worker's shelter, for a temporary period until 30th April 2025, and to continue to use the site for storage of a mobile caravan for a temporary period until 31st August 2025”, which is the description of the development on the council’s decision notice. The appeal form repeats the description used in the report and decision, and I have adopted it as set out in the banner heading above: it appears to express the intention of the applicant/appellant, at least at the present time. Main issues 3. The main issues in this case are: i) whether the use is appropriate in the countryside when judged against the policies of the development plan; ii) the effect of the static caravan and mobile caravan and their siting on the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape; and iii) whether there is adequate provision for foul water treatment and disposal. Reasons 4. The site is in an area of dispersed development of individual houses, and farmsteads and equine related activities.

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision The application site comprises a 0.7Ha arable field, located to the north of Cherry Lane, that is currently uncropped and left as rough grassland. The static caravan and a touring caravan are located towards the north of the site. The field is accessed via a gate to the southwest corner of the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision The application site comprises a 0.7Ha arable field, located to the north of Cherry Lane, that is currently uncropped and left as rough grassland. The static caravan and a touring caravan are located towards the north of the site. The field is accessed via a gate to the southwest corner of the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate Appeal Decision APP/U2615/W/25/3358397 field. The southern boundary of the site is partly screened by trees and hedgerow. Cherry Lane is a narrow country single track lane for the entirety of its length, with limited passing places. Whether the use is appropriate in the countryside when judged against the policies of the development plan. 5. The starting point, in accordance with legislation, is the policies of the development plan. Policy GSP1 of the Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2, adopted December 2021, states: "Development will not be permitted on land outside of Development Limits except where: a. it comprises agricultural or forestry development; b. it comprises the provision of utilities and highway infrastructure; or c. specific policies in the Local Plan indicate otherwise." The site is located outside of the development limits defined by this policy. 6.

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision The information provided in the document put forward as the appellant’s statement of case is that mobile caravan is used as a shelter when sundry works for maintenance purposes are carried out, whilst the static caravan is stored on it and has not been used for any purpose, but is intended for use as a project office on a construction project in Oxford which has been delayed until summer 2025. 7. These uses of the touring caravan, and the storage of the static caravan, clearly do not meet criteria a or b of policy GSP1, and no specific policies in the Local Plan have been suggested that might meet criterion c. Therefore the siting of the 2 caravans is contrary to Policy GSP1 The effect of the static caravan and mobile caravan and their siting on the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape 8. Core Strategy Policies CS9 and CS11 seek to conserve and enhance the landscape character, in accordance with the findings of the Borough’s Landscape Character Assessment. Local Plan Part 2 policy E4 expects that proposals should “include landscaping schemes as appropriate to the size and nature of the development in order to mitigate impacts on and where possible enhance the local landscape character.” 9.

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision The 2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Landscape Character Assessment defines this area as being Hobland Settled Farmland. This area is defined to the west and the south by the wooded fingers of the adjacent low-lying Waveney Rural Wooded Valley character area. The area is characterised by arable farmland set within an Enclosure landscape pattern. Smaller fields are commonplace, such as the appeal site. 10. Whilst the caravans are at a little distance from the road, by their nature they have greater prominence than their size might suggest. Had there been a justifiable need for an appropriate use for them, it would be expected that siting and screening would have been given greater consideration. As it is, providing shelter during sundry maintenance tasks and for storage, does not amount to a justification for the introduction, even for a temporary period, of caravans that are inimical to the appearance of the countryside. Whether there is adequate provision for foul water treatment and disposal 11. In a statement made to the council’s enforcement officer, the appellant has stated: “There is no foul drainage required for this application. There is no intention for the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/U2615/W/25/3358397 land to be occupied by people. A chemical toilet is present on site should it be required and this requires the use of a cassette that is disposed of offsite.” For a very temporary use, this might be satisfactory, but in view of my conclusion on the other 2 issues, I do not regard it as necessary for me to pursue this matter further. Overall conclusion 12. For the reasons stated in paragraphs 7 and 10 above, I conclude that the siting of the caravans, even for a temporary period, is contrary to Policy GSP1 and not appropriate in this countryside location; and that their presence is harmful to the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape. Although the permission sought by the appeal for the mobile caravan, if granted, would expire on 31 August, 2025, sanctioning its retention for this short period is not justified. Therefore the appeal will be dismissed.

Land to the west of 5 Acres, Cherry Lane, Browston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9DN — Great Yarmouth Borough Council — Terrence Kemmann-Lane INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3