Item 16, p54                                                                             The Gables, Maidstone Road, Sutton Valance, ME17 3LS

 

 

Reference number: 16/507377

 

The Parish Council have sent the following additional comments to the published Committee Report:

 

“Item 6.10 in the report to the members states that housing at Homewell House has been recently allowed. In fact this appeal was dismissed by the inspector.”

 

Paragraph 6.10 made reference to the Homewell House appeal having been allowed in reference to sustainability of the site. This appeal was dismissed, however the Inspector found the site to be sustainable in his consideration of the appeal. Specifically at paragraph 8 of the Homewell House appeal decision the Inspector states that:

 

“The site lies about 1.5 km from Sutton Valence, a large village which provides a variety of services and facilities, to which it is connected by continuous footways. Previous Inspectors dealing with sites at Warmlake crossroads to the south have regarded the village as reasonably accessible by foot. In addition, there is a public house and service station nearby, and next to the site bus stops with frequent services to Maidstone, Sutton Valence and Tenterden. Given these circumstances the Council does not dispute that the site is in a reasonably sustainable location and future occupants of the houses would not be completely dependent on use of the private car.”

 

The Parish have also asked for the full planning history of the site to be provided to Members.

 

The original report to Members detailed various extensions to the property, and the further history is as follows (under addresses Land Adj to The Gables, or The Gables, Five Wents).

 

·         05/1420 Outline planning application for the erection of 1 number detached house with garage, with means of access to be considered at this stage and all other matters reserved for future consideration (Refused)

 

·         84/1548             Outline application for detached house and double garage (Refused)

 

·         60/0118/MK2     The erection of a bungalow (Refused)

 

The most recent (2005) application was refused against a different policy background, namely an infill policy (H29) with which it was not considered to comply, and the Kent Structure Plan which included protecting the countryside ‘for its own sake’, that is to say from any harmful impact. It is also acknowledged that the previous refusals pre-date the NPPF which seeks to significantly boost the supply of housing, albeit not at all costs.

 

Moreover, the three applications set out above sought to obtain outline permission for a dwelling at The Gables only using land within the demise of The Gables and thereby resulting in an irregular shaped plot.  The current application makes use of part of the garden of Rosmann. By providing a larger site the building line of any new dwelling can be set in line with The Gables and the additional land allows for a pattern of development which is in keeping with the neighbouring dwellings in terms of plot size and building lines.  In this case, whilst it is acknowledged that the site lies within the countryside, the design and the particular merits of the site as set out within the main report result in an almost negligible impact on the character and appearance of the countryside. For these reasons planning permission is recommended to be granted in this case, subject to publication as a departure.

 

RECOMMENDATION REMAINS UNCHANGED