- Decision
- allowed, 18 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: L Gardner
- Authority
- Dover (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6009974
- Application reference
- 26/00144
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Prior approval (GPDO Sch 2 Part 6 Class A) for a 30.5 m x 15.2 m lambing barn
- Site context
- national landscape, open countryside
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- No Framework version cited
- Determinative policies
- GPDO Sch 2 Pt 6 Class A
- Main issues
- permitted development; siting design and appearance
Summary
Prior approval was allowed for a lambing barn on a 13 ha holding in the Kent Downs National Landscape. The inspector accepted evidence of an agricultural trade or business without accounts, and found the siting behind a dense roadside hedge acceptable (DL ¶9, ¶16-17).
What made the difference
Persuasive non-financial evidence of an agricultural business (invoices, a grazing tenancy, stock seen on site) and DEFRA-based sizing (DL ¶8-11). The Framework was not relevant to this GPDO determination. The National Landscape duty was treated as satisfied by the finding of no harm (DL ¶18).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| N4 | pass | CRoW Act s85 "seek to further" duty considered; no harm to Kent Downs NL (DL 18) |
Key facts
- 13 ha holding recently bought; invoices for ewes, grazing tenancy and stewardship scheme accepted as evidence of trade or business despite no accounts (DL 7-9, 20)
- 400 m livestock restriction met by the lambing exception in D.1(3) (DL 12-13)
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.