Caravan, Gravel Farm, 250 Gravel Lane, Banks

Appeal 6011231 · West Lancashire Borough Council · Planning Inspector · decided 15 September 2026 · allowed

Change of use of a barn to a dwelling and a second barn to an ancillary garage, in the Green Belt.

Cited in: 5. Walking routes and stations

Why this is cited. This appeal makes the same point from the other side of the balance: Banks is a Key Sustainable Village, yet the distance to its services left occupiers “largely reliant on the private car”. Because the conversion was not inappropriate in the Green Belt, that finding counted as harm in the S5(5) balance rather than as a failed limb, and the appeal was allowed.

Key points

Settlement: Banks is "identified in the LP as a 'Key Sustainable Village.'" (¶9).
Location: "the distance to the nearest services and facilities in Banks would mean that future occupiers of the proposed dwelling would be largely reliant on the private car to meet their day-to-day needs" (¶14).
The conversion was not inappropriate in the Green Belt, so the poor location counted as harm in the S5(5) balance, and the appeal was allowed on that balance (¶29–32).

Quotations are from the officer report, decision notice or appeal decision letter, with page (p.) or paragraph (¶) numbers. Read the decision itself for the full reasoning.

Summarised for the note on Stratford decisions under the August 2026 NPPF. Not legal advice. Back to the note.