Decision

Following consideration and the receipt of no objections or representations Permitted Development under Schedule 2 Part 2 Classes A, B and Schedule 2 Part 4 Class A of the 2015 Order at the Land (outlined in red on the attached plan) shall be removed by making permanent through confirmation an Article 4 Direction the effect of which will be to require planning permission for Minor Operations (gates, fences, walls etc): “The erection, construction, maintenance, improvement or alteration of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure.” and for Minor Operations (means of access to a highway) for “The formation, laying out and construction of a means of access to a highway which is not a trunk road or a classified road, where that access is required in connection with development permitted by any Class in this Schedule (other than by Class A of this Part).” and further for Temporary Buildings: including “The provision on land of buildings, moveable structures, works, plant or machinery required temporarily in connection with and for the duration of operations being or to be carried out on, in, under or over that land or on land adjoining that land”..

Reasons for the decision

Background
Residents in the vicinity of the Land have alerted the Council’s to the marketing and imminent sale by auction of the Land. Since late 2018 the Council has dealt with planning applications, defended planning appeals, taken enforcement action and court proceedings to address activities including the erection of fences and construction of a wooden cabin and other buildings on land adjacent to the Land. Amongst other things it made and subsequently confirmed an Article 4 Direction (with immediate effect) under the 2015 Order on the land immediately adjacent to the Land so prospectively planning permission is required for Minor Operations and Temporary Buildings on the adjacent land. The Council considers that there is a real risk that the pattern described will be repeated on the Land.
Article 4 directions can be used to remove specific permitted development rights in all or parts of the local authority’s area. It would not restrict development altogether but instead it can ensure that development cannot be carried out under the specified permitted development rights and therefore such development would require planning permission. A planning application would need to be submitted that would then be determined in accordance with the development plan.
Any planning application required as a consequence of an Article 4 Direction is exempt from the usual planning application fee.
Expediency
Government Guidance advises that: “Local planning authorities should consider making Article 4 Directions only in those exceptional circumstances where evidence suggests that the exercise of permitted development rights would harm local amenity or the proper planning of the area.”
Only by the use of the Article 4 direction, and through the requirement for planning permission, can the Council determine a planning application in accordance with the development plan, as well as other material considerations such as the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework).
The National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG 2022) at paragraph 53 sets out criteria to be satisfied in determining whether an Article 4 Direction is appropriate, which include:
• in other cases than change from non-residential use to residential use be limited to situations where an Article 4 direction is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of the area (this could include the use of Article 4 directions to require planning permission for the demolition of local facilities)
• in all cases, be based on robust evidence, and apply to the smallest geographical area possible.
Applying the above policy guidance to the circumstances the Council considers that making an immediate direction is necessary for the following reasons:-
•The Land (27.49 hectares) which appears to be marketed in two Lots comprises the larger part of The Coombes Woodland. Adjoining landowners have been given the opportunity to purchase pieces of land. It is understood that four have expressed an interest in doing so thus it may be broken into further smaller parcels. The other part of The Coombes Woodland to the immediate west of the Land has been parcelled off and sold in 19 plots;
•Local residents brought the Council’s attention to activity on the land to the west including the construction of fences and the siting of building materials and material associated with residential use. A cabin and other structures were subsequently erected on one of the Plots on the adjacent land. The Council has been dealing with breaches of planning control at planning appeal and in the courts taking up vast resources (eg officer time and financial costs) for the past four years and do not want a repeat of this on the Land;
•The Land forms a significant part of The Coombes Woodland.
•It is designated as Ancient Woodland, a Local Wildlife Site and a Local Geological Site afforded policy protection under the Development Plan in policy TB23. It has been the subject of a number of studies carried out by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) during 2015 and 2018 which recorded 62 different species of bird, 19 butterfly species plus bees, hornets and moths were identified. They also noted 5 types of mammal and 30 plant species.
•The Land is the subject to Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) 1684/2019 and 1925/2023. It is the latest of a sequence of TPOs that have provided continuous protection of the Land and the wider Coombes Woodland.
•Coombes Woodland is a landscape of high quality afforded policy protection under the Development Plan in policy TB21 and in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) under paragraph 174 a) protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, sites of biodiversity or geological value and soils (in a manner commensurate with their statutory status or identified quality in the development plan);.
•Policy TB21 of the Local Plan states:
‘Policy TB21: Landscape Character
1. Proposals must demonstrate how they have addressed the requirements of the Council’s Landscape Character Assessment, including the landscape quality; landscape strategy; landscape sensitivity and key issues.
2. Proposals shall retain or enhance the condition, character and features that contribute to the landscape.’
As a consequence of the imminent sale by auction, or prior to auction, of the Land in Lots and the amenity, landscape and biodiversity value of the Land evidenced by the protections and designation detailed above the Council considers that development which could be carried out without planning permission, under the provisions of Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A and Class B

Alternative options considered

The option of doing nothing and not confirming the Article 4 Direction having immediate effect is not considered appropriate in these circumstances, as it would fail to protect the amenity and wellbeing of the area.