WERS is delighted to confirm that the Government Planning Inspector has dismissed the appeal by the developer Homes by Harlequin for a detached dwelling house midway along the farm track to Langley Bottom Farm. Reference: APP/P3610/W/25/3359376
WERS had played a prominent role in ensuring that the original planning application was refused permission by the Borough Council’s Planning Committee. WERS also submitted a robust objection on behalf of local residents to the planning appeal.
The developer deliberately removed the landscape covering to expose the footings of the long-since demolished agricultural dwelling that was once there and attempted to hoodwink the Inspector that the proposal was merely a replacement dwelling and that its impact on the Green Belt and landscape would be minimal. The Inspector supported WERS assertion that it was ridiculous to claim that what was being proposed was a replacement dwelling. He found that : ‘The appellant’s arguments therefore largely rely on overlooking the fact that what remains on site is not a farmhouse but a few pieces of what were once a dwelling.’
The Inspector also supported WERS contention that the proposal would have a significant visual impact on the landscape character and on the views available to people and their visual amenity. He concluded in his dismissal letter that :
‘it would appear as a sporadic development and piecemeal urbanisation of a generally open area of land which forms part of the transition between the built environs of Langley Vale and the wider countryside setting. Therefore, the proposed dwelling would not assimilate into the landscape but instead have an adverse effect on the character and appearance of the area. It would therefore conflict with Policy CS5 of the Epsom and Ewell Core Strategy 2007 and Policies DM9 and DM10 of the Epsom and Ewell Development Management Policies Document 2015. These policies, amongst other things, seek to ensure that developments complement the attractive characteristics of the Borough and make a positive contribution to the natural environment and a site’s surroundings. ‘
This decision should be enormously helpful in WERS campaign alongside Langley Vale residents to ensure that the proposal for 110 dwellings on the adjacent field is refused planning permission.