- Decision
- allowed, 21 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: H Smith
- Authority
- Somerset (South West)
- Appeal reference
- 6008318
- Application reference
- 2024/2311/FUL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Two Dutch-barn-style buildings with six Class E units (light industrial, offices, food and drink, fitness/recreation) in a field outside development limits
- Site context
- open countryside, listed building setting, valued landscape
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- s38(6), HE6
- Development plan policies
- Mendip Local Plan Part 1 2014 CP1, CP3, CP4, DP1, DP4, DP7
- Main issues
- suitability of location; character and appearance and heritage setting
Summary
Six small Class E units in the countryside near Glastonbury were allowed. The scheme complied with the local plan's rural-economy policies (CP3/CP4), and the inspector found a neutral effect on the settings of Glastonbury Tor and the Grade I church tower (DL ¶11, ¶23). The revised Framework is noted (DL ¶3), but the letter never tests the scheme against S5's outside-settlement list or E4.
What made the difference
The site is low-lying and screened, and the Dutch-barn form sits against the school campus backdrop in long views from the Tor (DL ¶17-21). It is a plan-led approval. Contrast the strict S5(1)(b) treatment of rural business in other appeals.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| E4 | pass | local plan CP3/CP4 rural-economy support met; the letter does not run S5 or E4 by code (DL 6-11) | |
| HE6 | neutral | neutral effect on settings of Grade I St Michael's Church Tower and Glastonbury Tor scheduled monument; long views against the school campus backdrop (DL 12-24) |
Key facts
- Low-lying field corner next to Mollen Farm and the Millfield Junior School campus; mature hedges screen it (DL 5, 18-19)
- Within the Glastonbury Tor special landscape feature (DP4) (DL 12)
- [object Object]
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.