Appeal 3346418
Public case and site metadata stored from the official casework database, including fields that were empty in the source release.
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Official decision document
The decision, section by section
5 sections
Read the development description and the Inspector’s text from the official decision PDF in source order. Source headings are retained where available. Personal and contact details are removed by an automated privacy filter; this is source material, not Rules for You analysis.
Section 01
Development description
installation of air source heat pump at rear of property.
Section 02
Decision
The appeal is dismissed.
Section 03
Main Issue
The main issue is the effect of the proposed heat pump on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, with regard to noise and disturbance.
Section 04
Reasons
The appeal property is a three storey end-of-terrace dwelling located within a recent residential development of mixed property types.
Policy DM15 of the Colchester Borough Local Plan 2017-2033 Section 2 (2022) requires development to protect and promote public and residential amenity, including with regard to noise and disturbance. The National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) indicates that decisions should ensure that new development is appropriate for its location taking into account the likely effects on living conditions. This includes mitigating and reducing to a minimum potential adverse impacts resulting from noise1.
The air source heat pump would be located in the appeal property’s rear garden, close to the boundary wall adjacent to the street. The Council’s Environmental Protection team has assessed the proposal against the relevant [name] (MCS) Planning Standard for noise levels. The outcome of this assessment is that the pump’s noise level would be 47dB(A), in excess of the permitted development noise level limit of 42dB(A).
I note that the appellant does not dispute the outcome of this assessment and the Council’s decision. I acknowledge the principal basis for the appeal, which is that 1 Paragraph 191a). no opportunity was provided by the Council to discuss and possibly address its concerns. [name] acknowledge also the appellant’s frustrations in this regard, these matters cannot have a direct bearing on the appeal decision, which is only concerned with the planning merits of the proposal as submitted.
Based on the assessed level of noise and the proximity to neighbouring dwellings and gardens in the terrace, there is no reasonable basis for me to find that operation of the heat pump as proposed would not result in harmful noise and disturbance to neighbouring occupiers.
Therefore, for these reasons, I must conclude that the proposed heat pump would result in material harm resulting from noise and disturbance to the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers. Consequently, the proposal is contrary to Policy DM15 of the Local Plan Part 2 and to the Framework, as described.
Section 05
Conclusion
For the reasons given it is concluded that the appeal should not succeed.
Planning inspector and document dates
The official casework attribution is grouped under a one-way keyed hash and shown only by its local identifier. Decision-letter dates and page references are extracted by fixed first-page rules and checked against that authoritative record.
Appeal Decision
- Extracted inspector · page 1
- Inspector attribution ID 154No official casework-database value to compare
- Extracted decision date · page 1
- 11 September 2024Matches the official casework database
- Extracted site visit dates
- 22 August 2024 (page 1)
Reference and authority
Official identifiers and the planning authority recorded against this case.
- Case reference
- 3346418
- Application reference
- 240554
- Lead case reference
- Not recorded
- Planning authority
- Colchester Borough Council
- Planning authority code
- E07000071
Casework details
The casework, procedure, development and linking details supplied by the official record.
- Casework type
- Householder (HAS)
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development type
- Householder developments
- Appeal type reason
- 1. Refused planning permission
- Appeal reason
- Refusal
- Type detail
- Planning Appeals - Full
- Jurisdiction
- Transferred
- Link status
- Not Linked
Site and development
Published appeal-site measurements and planning designations, without the withheld precise location fields.
- Site area
- Not recorded
- Floor space
- Not recorded
- Number of residences
- 1
- Site in Green Belt
- No
- Agricultural holding
- Not recorded
- Affects setting of a listed building
- Not recorded
- Historic building grant made
- Not recorded
- Relates to a conservation area
- Not recorded
- Flooding is an issue
- Not recorded
- Site within an AONB
- No
- Site within an SSSI
- Not recorded
Decision and dates
The published outcome and every imported case date.
- Official decision
- Dismissed
- Decision category
- Dismissed
- Received date
- 15 June 2024
- Valid date
- 15 July 2024
- Start date
- 8 July 2024
- Planning authority decision date
- 20 May 2024
- Appeal decision date
- 11 September 2024
Case administration
Published recovery, call-in, costs and enforcement information for this case.
- Redetermined
- No
- Bespoke
- No
- Date recovered
- Not recorded
- Date not recovered or derecovered
- Not recorded
- Call-in date
- Not recorded
- Costs applied for
- No
- Enforcement grounds count
- Not recorded
- Enforcement grounds
- Not recorded
Source and catalogue history
When this record appeared in the rolling official release and when the catalogue stored it.
- Source
- Planning Inspectorate casework database
- Source data system
- Horizon
- Dataset status
- Current release
- Catalogue record ID
- 56932
- First seen
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Last seen
- 20 August 2026 at 16:28
- Removed from release
- Not recorded
- Record created
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Record updated
- 24 August 2026 at 16:21