The Daily Decision Digest: 14 July 2026

AppealBase recorded 59 appeal decisions for 14 July, granting permission for a total of 242 new dwellings in Hoo St Werburgh and Warboys — the selected decisions below include two inquiry rulings on housing/community infrastructure, two hearing decisions on highway safety and listed building consent, and several other decisions addressing Class C2 housing, flood-risk fallback arguments, permitted-development upward extensions, carbon offsetting, Habitats Regulations mitigation and public house redevelopment.

Medway: Tilted balance allows 240 homes
An inquiry appeal was allowed for up to 240 dwellings, including 30% affordable housing, on land outside the settlement boundary at Hoo St Werburgh. The Inspector found conflict with countryside, landscape and sustainable travel policies, but Medway’s acute housing land supply shortfall, identified as between 2.03 and 2.69 years, and the substantial housing and affordable housing benefits were sufficient to outweigh the harms under the tilted balance. (6002996)

London Borough of Hackney: Synagogue need outweighs loss of HMO floorspace
Following an inquiry, permission was granted for the conversion and extension of an HMO to a synagogue and ancillary offices in Stamford Hill. The Inspector accepted that the proposal would meet an essential community infrastructure need and that the HMO was not shown to be of “good quality” for the purposes of local policy protection. Conflicts with London Plan policy carried limited weight given the identified community need, limited townscape and amenity harm, and secured car-free and mitigation measures. (6004379)

South Downs National Park: SEN school dismissed on highway safety
A hearing appeal for the change of use of Empshott Grange to a 40-place specialist SEN day school was dismissed. The Inspector gave high weight to the social benefits of SEN provision, but found that the appeal scheme had not demonstrated safe access on narrow rural lanes and constrained junctions. Revised access and off-site highway works, advanced through a later application, were not treated as part of the appeal scheme. (6001892)

North Northamptonshire: Grade II* church conversion works fail on evidential gap
A listed building consent appeal concerning internal works to the Grade II* former United Reformed Church in Rothwell was dismissed after a hearing. The Inspector found moderate to high less than substantial harm from the proposed loss of pews, enclosure of the gallery and floor raising, and placed particular weight on the lack of clear evidence justifying the extent of pew removal or demonstrating that retention or treatment options had been properly explored. (6003641)

Huntingdonshire: Class C2 retirement scheme fails despite HLS shortfall
An appeal for 84 supported housing units at St Ives was dismissed, notwithstanding the Council’s lack of a five-year housing land supply and the very significant positive weight given to specialist housing delivery. The Inspector found cumulative harm relating to landscape character, accessibility, wind effects on recreational lake users, noise and ventilation for future residents, biodiversity evidence, protected species and waste obligations. (6000926)

Huntingdonshire: Flood-risk conflict outweighed by Class Q fallback
Permission was granted for two dwellings in Warboys, despite conflict with the development strategy and the failure to pass the flood-risk sequential test. The Inspector attached significant weight to a realistic Class Q fallback for three dwellings in an existing agricultural building and found that the appeal scheme would reduce the number of dwellings and occupants exposed to flood risk. (6008164)

Richmond upon Thames: Class AB upward extension refused on heritage and light
Prior approval for an additional storey to create nine flats above a mixed-use terrace in Teddington was refused. Although transport and cycle parking issues were resolved, the Inspector found the additional roof storey would be top-heavy and harmful to the settings of the Broad Street Conservation Area and nearby Buildings of Townscape Merit. The proposal also failed to demonstrate adequate natural light to all habitable rooms. (6004492)

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead: Missing obligations fatal to flats conversion
An appeal for conversion of an existing building in Ascot to four flats was dismissed because the appellant had not secured carbon offsetting, SAMM and SANG mitigation through a completed planning obligation. The Inspector found that an adverse effect on the Thames Basin Heaths SPA could not be ruled out and that the Habitats Regulations provided a strong reason for refusal, preventing reliance on the tilted balance despite housing land supply issues. (6002300)

London Borough of Islington: Public house redevelopment not shown to protect community role
A proposal to demolish and redevelop an existing public house with a replacement pub and four flats was dismissed. The Inspector accepted that the existing pub had community, social and economic value and found insufficient evidence that the replacement venue would operate equivalently, particularly given concerns over live or amplified music, barrel handling, daylight impacts on a neighbour, cycle parking, fire safety information and missing planning obligations. (6006923)

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