Objections from the National Park Authority, Parish Council and others have been dismissed.
Outline plans for this development had been rejected by the South Downs National Park Authority in 2024 with their reasons for refusal including harm to the landscape character, concerns about highway safety, local social & economic wellbeing and other matters.
The Parish Council, Petersfield Town Council, the CPRE and others all submitted evidence to the Planning Inspector to support the National Park Authority’s stance, with the Parish Council also highlighting fears about adverse effects on The Nest Hotel and The Five Bells (which both rely on overnight stays and on providing café and restaurant facilities) and on the area’s dark night skies and tranquillity.
But the Planning Inspector, Mr Benjamin Webb, has dismissed all these concerns and concluded that the proposed development would conserve and enhance the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the National Park as well as complying with the various policies of the South Downs Local Plan which the planning authority felt strongly that it would not.
Copies of the Parish Council's submissions are here:
