Land at Mount Pleasant Farm, Chapel Lane, Northmoor, Oxforshire, OX29 5TB

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the mixed use of the land for agriculture, the keeping of horses, the storage of items that are not ancillary to the use of the land for agriculture or the keeping of horses, and the use of land as a motorcycling/BMX activity track, is a use appropriate to the location.
• The effect on the landscape and the character and appearance of the area.
• The effect on the living conditions of nearby people, especially in terms of noise.
• The effect on ecology and biodiversity.
• Flood risk.
• The effect on the rural economy
• The effect of the track, including the formation of earth mounds, on the landscape and the character and appearance of the area.
• The effect on ecology and biodiversity.
• The effect on flood risk.

What decided it

The appellant failed to demonstrate immunity from enforcement for the uses/works in question, and the mixed use and dirt track were found to cause unacceptable harm to landscape character, living conditions and flood risk that outweighed any benefits.

the harm to landscape character, living conditions (noise/dust) and flood risk, together with the inappropriate rural location of the storage and track uses, outweighed the lack of demonstrated ecological harm and any rural economy benefit, so the deemed applications were refused in both appeals