Not previously developed land

Appeal 6009919 · Thurrock · Appeal · 29 Sept 2026

• AnnexB:PDL fail hardstanding behind the two houses is PDL, but the vegetated part behind Vine Lodge/Sandiacre has blended into the landscape; site as a whole not PDL (DL 9-15)
• GB7(1)(e) fail not available because the site as a whole is not PDL (DL 15)

A covered pool and "eco annexe" on a former builder's yard behind two houses in Fobbing, a washed-over Green Belt village and conservation area. Only part of the site was PDL, so GB7(1)(e) failed. The site was grey belt and the location passed (g)(iii), but there was no evidenced unmet need for an annexe and pool, so (g)(ii) failed and the scheme was inappropriate. With openness loss and moderate conservation-area harm, VSC was not shown. Dismissed.

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26/01447/FUL · Stratford-on-Avon · Council (delegated) · 28 Sept 2026

• GB7(1)(e) fail the land "has not been lawfully developed" and was in agricultural use; the report cites the Annex B exclusion of land last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings (p.5)

A retrospective farm shop on an egg farm in the Green Belt at Kings Coughton, near Alcester, granted under delegated powers on 28 September 2026. The officer went through every category in GB7(1) and found that none applied, so the shop was inappropriate development. Very special circumstances were then accepted: the farm can lawfully sell eggs direct to the public only at the holding, and the shop brings about a fifth of its income. The report is a scanned image and was read by OCR; page numbers are PDF pages.

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Appeal 6009691 · Ribble Valley · Appeal · 24 Sept 2026 · 3 homes

• AnnexB:PDL fail occupied by an agricultural shed, so excluded from PDL (DL 16)

Permission in principle for up to three self-build homes on a smallholding outside Hurst Green, in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, was dismissed on an appeal planning officer's recommendation. The site's access to the village and bus is by an unlit lane with no footway, so it was not well related to the settlement. The houses and curtilages would urbanise an unspoilt landscape. Self-build and over-55 need were unevidenced and unsecured, so the benefits carried limited weight.

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Appeal 6009281 · Buckinghamshire · Appeal · 23 Sept 2026 · 4 homes

• GB7(1)(e) fail manège is fixed surface infrastructure but covers about a third of the site, so the site as a whole is not PDL; four houses would in any case cause moderate harm to openness (DL 9-11)

Outline scheme for up to four houses on a manège and garden land on the open side of Denham Lane, at the edge of Chalfont St Peter. It was dismissed. The site was not PDL as a whole under GB7(1)(e) and was held not to be grey belt, because it makes a strong contribution to purpose (a) on the council's draft 2026 Green Belt Assessment. So the development was inappropriate. Four homes against an acute shortfall, in an accessible location, did not clearly outweigh the Green Belt harm.

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Appeal 6008723 · Sefton · Appeal · 23 Sept 2026 · 4 homes

• AnnexB:PDL fail former farm (agricultural) and remnants blended into the landscape; not PDL; former use very limited weight (DL 6-7, 27)

Permission in principle for up to four bungalows on open former farmland at the edge of Lydiate was refused on appeal. The key finding was that Lydiate and Maghull form a single large built-up area, so the site strongly contributes to Green Belt purpose (a) and is not grey belt. The scheme was inappropriate development, harmed openness, and its moderate benefits did not clearly outweigh the harm.

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Appeal 6012481 · Sevenoaks · Appeal · 22 Sept 2026 · 6 homes

• GB7(1)(e) fail open grass field with no built form is not PDL; adjacent PDL (found in earlier enforcement appeal) does not make the whole site PDL (DL 8-10)

Outline proposal for up to six dwellings on an open field next to the M25, offset by removing nearby commercial buildings. Dismissed. Grey belt and unmet need were agreed, but the site failed GB7(1)(g)(iii): it scored poorly on the Connectivity Tool, had no public transport, and was reached by unlit rural roads without footways. The scheme was therefore inappropriate development, and no very special circumstances were shown. Missing protected-species surveys, M25 noise and poor access visibility added to the harm.

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Appeal 6011330 · North East Derbyshire · Appeal · 15 Sept 2026 · 1 home

• GB7(1)(e) fail only the stables' squared-off curtilage is PDL; garden land beyond is not; the whole site must be PDL to qualify (DL 6-9)

An outline scheme to replace stables with one self-build house in the North East Derbyshire Green Belt. The appeal was dismissed. The house sat on previously developed land, but its necessary garden took in paddock outside the stables' curtilage. So the site was not wholly PDL and the GB7(1)(e) exception failed. A garden is not a "material change in the use of land" under GB7(1)(f)(iii). Moderate self-build and ecology benefits did not clearly outweigh the Green Belt harm.

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Appeal 6009303 · South Cambridgeshire · Appeal · 10 Sept 2026 · 2 homes

• AnnexB:PDL fail land last occupied by agricultural structures excluded from PDL (DL 18)

Two self-build dwellings on a former smallholding on the Fen Drayton LSA estate, about 1 km from the village's school and 1.3 km from shops, off an unlit private road with no footway. The appeal was dismissed as heavily car dependent. The self-build benefit collapsed because the unilateral undertaking was unenforceable, and there was no evidence of a 5YHLS or HDT failure to trigger S5(1)(j).

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25/01429/FUL · Bromsgrove · Council (delegated) · 21 Aug 2026 · 1 home

• GB7(1)(e) fail not PDL, because Annex B excludes land last occupied by agricultural buildings

A new dwelling in place of a barn (with Class Q consent) and stables in the Green Belt at Dodford. It fails GB7(1)(b), because a replacement must be for the same use. It fails GB7(1)(e), because agricultural land is not PDL. It fails GB7(1)(g)(iii): with a bus on two days a week, the site is not in a sustainable location. It was therefore inappropriate development. Very special circumstances were found in the Class Q fallback combined with a net reduction in built volume, and the application was approved four days into the new Framework.

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