During the coming weeks we hope to add a number of case studies of appeals refused on grounds which we believe support our case.
Here to get the page going are some judgements which refused applications on grounds of encroachment on open space or encroachment onto green belt. It is particularly interesting to see how unimpressed the Inspector's were with arguments based on the claim that "very special circumstances" justified the encroachment that the developers were hoping to have sanctioned at appeal.
(1) Chessington Nurseries applied to build on an adjacent field. Their plan was submitted with copious materials (Kingston Council website). These included details of public consultation. The application was supported by local residents and by the Borough of Kingston. Even so it was refused by the Mayor of London (1 page) on grounds of encroachment onto green belt. Here are the detailed reasons for the refusal (26 pages).
(2) This appeal over a proposed development for 46 dwellings in Sheffield was also refused on grounds of harm to the green built. What is particularly interesting is the way the inspector deals in his report (5 pages) with arguments that "very special circumstances" justified the encroachment onto green belt.
(3) This determination over an application for a development of over 900 flats in Brentford showed that it had many faults. The Inspector gave clear reasons for refusing it in his Letter to the developer (12 pages). More detailed reasoning is contained in his full report (211 pages). Among those reasons were the failure to properly consider the need for play areas. This refusal came despite the strong support of the Mayor of London for the development.
These examples have been selected almost at random from a rapid Internet search. Over the coming weeks we hope to present something rather more systematic.
Page last updated 7th May 2008.