- Decision
- dismissed, 30 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Edward Dade
- Authority
- Ashford (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6011717
- Application reference
- PA/2025/2073
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Retrospective listed building consent for replacing a hanging sign with a large flat light-green sign on first-floor weatherboarding of a Grade II terrace (Appeal B; the ground-floor sign Appeal A is 6011714)
- Site context
- inside settlement, conservation area, listed building setting
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HE6(4), HE6(3)
- Development plan policies
- Ashford Local Plan 2019 SP1, SP6, ENV13, Tenterden Neighbourhood Plan TEN NP4
- Main issues
- special interest of the listed building; conservation area
Summary
Retrospective listed building consent for an estate agent's large, light-green flat sign fixed to the first-floor weatherboarding of a Grade II terrace in Tenterden. Dismissed, with the linked ground-floor sign appeal. Moderate harm, given considerable importance and weight, was not outweighed, because the claimed commercial benefits could be had with sensitive signage.
Issues and findings
- Effect. "the Appeal B sign appears as an incongruous and visually dominant feature" (DL ¶20).
- HE6. "each sign gives rise to a moderate degree of harm. Nonetheless, I give these harms considerable importance and weight" (DL ¶24).
- Benefits. "it is unclear why these benefits could not be achieved through signage which is sensitive to the building’s special interest" (DL ¶25).
Transferable points
- Corporate branding is not a public benefit that outweighs harm where a sensitive sign would serve the business equally (DL ¶21-22, 25).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HE6(1) | harm | substantial | substantial weight to conservation; each sign causes "a moderate degree of harm" (DL 24) |
| HE6(3) | harm | considerable | "I give these harms considerable importance and weight" (DL 24) |
| HE6(4) | fail | continued commercial use and tourism benefits achievable with sensitive signage, so not sufficient (DL 25) |
Key facts
- Same decision letter as Appeal A (6011714, ground-floor sign), also dismissed
- The sign covers weatherboarding at first floor, breaks its horizontal lines and projects forward; corporate colour out of keeping (DL 16, 18-20)
- Previous consents for commercial signage show a suitable design is possible (DL 22)
- [object Object]
Related decisions
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.