Appeal 6004660

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for change of use of a tract of agricultural land which has been incorporated into the adjacent C3 Class domestic garden at [site address] , [site address] , [site address] , [postcode] in accordance with the terms of the application, [name]/24/1611, and plans nos. 1390 SI 01 [name] and 1390 SI 02 [name] submitted with it, and subject to the following condition:

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (or any order revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no development permitted by virtue of Class E of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Order shall be undertaken.

The application was submitted retrospectively and I saw on my site visit that the part of the site shown in pink on the submitted plans is already in use as a domestic garden. Whilst most of this ‘pink’ area is grassed as a lawn, a parking area with retaining wall behind has been created at the front, a wooden fence and gates have been erected along the front boundary, and post and wire fencing has been erected along the side and rear boundaries. However as the development subject of the appeal relates just to the use of the land, I have not considered any of these operational works. The vehicular access off [site address] which serves the parking area has long been established and previously served the adjacent field.

The main issue is the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area.

The property accommodates a large detached house on the north side of [site address] . There are a number of detached outbuildings in the property including a large garage/annex at the front. The land to the side and rear of the appeal site is in agricultural use, and although there are some dwellings and other buildings scattered nearby, the wider area is overwhelmingly rural in character. Locally, the land slopes up from [site address] and there is a gappy hedge along the highway verge which allows for views into the site and of the adjacent field. The openness of these views is a strong characteristic of the area.

The lack of built form in the garden, and the post and wire fence on the boundary between the appeal site and the adjacent field, means that the appeal site has a similar degree of openness to the field.

As part of a garden, it is likely that domestic paraphernalia, for example washing lines or children’s play equipment, could be put on the land. However by their nature, any such items would be small or not of substantial construction and so would not be likely to materially affect openness. In addition, given the relatively limited width of the area, which the Council advise as being mainly 11m wide, the scope for domestic paraphernalia spreading far from the house would be limited. Any larger structures such as outbuildings would be likely to have an adverse effect on the open character of the garden and represent visual encroachment into the countryside. As such, it would be reasonable to withdraw permitted development rights for outbuildings to provide the Council with control over this, and the appellant has suggested a condition to achieve this.

The Council consider there is no justification for the parking area nor the vehicular access. However there is no need for justification to be demonstrated. I also recognise the Council’s concerns that the appeal scheme could facilitate the use of the garage/annex as a separate dwelling. But from the planning history set out in the officer report, there is a condition attached to the planning permission for that which prevents its use as a separate unit of accommodation. The replacement of the front boundary hedge by the wooden fencing and gates could be considered in an application relating specifically to that.

Overall, the change of use of the land to garden has not harmed the character and appearance of the area. The development therefore accords with policies DP12 and DP26 of the Mid Sussex District Plan (2018) which together seek to protect the intrinsic character of the countryside and the landscape.

The Council have suggested that a condition be imposed requiring the existing access to be closed off. However that would not be necessary to make the change of use acceptable. It would however be necessary to withdraw permitted development rights for the appeal site relating to the erection of outbuildings to ensure the rural character and appearance of the area is maintained, and I have imposed a condition to that effect. I have included reference to the approved plans within the terms of the decision for the sake of certainty.

The change of use accords with the development plan taken as a whole and there are no other considerations that indicate a decision other than in accordance with the development plan. Therefore, for the reasons given, the appeal is allowed.