- Decision
- dismissed, 18 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: F Leung
- Authority
- Dartford (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6010288
- Application reference
- DA/26/00051/FUL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Vehicular crossover onto the A226, paved parking for two cars, partial removal of boundary wall
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- DP3(3), TR6(4), TR4(1)(c)(i), S4(1)
- Development plan policies
- Dartford Local Plan 2024 M1, M16
- Main issues
- character and appearance; highway safety
Summary
A driveway and crossover on a prominent corner front garden onto the A226 in Dartford. Dismissed. The inspector applied the 2026 Framework without re-consulting, because it did not "fundamentally alter the relevant policy position" (DL ¶5). Both DP3(3) (design) and TR6(4)/TR4(1)(c)(i) (highway safety) were treated as weighing "substantially" against, so the modest parking and EV benefits were "substantially outweighed" under S4 (DL ¶23-26).
What made the difference
Two Framework refusal policies were engaged together. The highway evidence was also deficient: the swept paths used cars shorter than the 4.8 m standard, which could not be cured by condition without changing the access design (DL ¶17, 20).
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(3) | fail | substantial | loss of a large open corner front garden to parking; DP3(1) conflict without clear justification "weighs substantially" (DL 9-14, 24) |
| TR6(4) | fail | substantial | tracking used cars shorter than the 4.8 m highway-authority standard; reversing across the footway near a junction, crossing and bus stop (DL 16-21, 25) |
| S4(1) | fail | two spaces and an EV charger attract modest weight; substantially outweighed (DL 23, 26) |
Key facts
- Prominent corner plot at the A226/St Albans Road signalled junction, near a crossing, bus stop and school
- Swept paths drawn with cars shorter than 4.8 m
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.