- Decision
- dismissed, 20 August 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: E Everitt
- Authority
- Welwyn Hatfield (East of England)
- Appeal reference
- 6006744
- Application reference
- 6/2025/2268/FULL
- Procedure
- householder
- Development
- Close-boarded fence enclosing open amenity land beside an end-terrace house as garden (change of use)
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- DP3(1)
- Development plan policies
- Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan 2016-2036 SP 1, SP 9, SADM 16, District Plan Supplementary Design Guidance 2005
- Main issues
- character and appearance
Summary
Fencing off part of an open planted verge beside a Hatfield terrace to extend a garden. Dismissed. It would erode a "welcome break in the built form" and put close-boarded fencing unusually near the road (DL ¶5-7). The Framework is invoked only generically.
What made the difference
In a planned estate, open amenity land that forms part of the layout is protected on character grounds even where the area is "pleasant but unremarkable" (DL ¶8).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| DP3(1) | fail | loss of open verdant land in planned layout, fence closer to road than any other: "contrary to ... the relevant provisions of the Framework" — no code cited, no DP3(3) wording; mapped by harvester (DL 5-9) |
Key facts
- Only benefit is extra private garden, limited weight (DL 10)
- Parties not re-consulted on the 2026 Framework (DL 3)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.