Land at Lady Grove, Didcot, OX11 9BP

the erection of up to 150 dwellings including public open space comprising a country park, a LEAP and additional green infrastructure provision with all matters reserved other than access

Authority: South Oxfordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Major P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the Council can demonstrate a 5 year supply of deliverable housing land
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the landscape and the setting of the adjacent Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
The relationship of the proposal with the spatial strategy for the area, and the planning balance

What decided it

The absence of a demonstrable 5 year housing land supply triggered the tilted balance, and the significant benefits of housing and affordable housing delivery were found not to be significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the narrow conflict with the development plan and limited landscape harm.

the significant benefits of market and affordable housing delivery, open space, biodiversity gain, sustainable location and economic benefits outweighed the narrow conflict with the development plan and the limited landscape/AONB setting harm, so that the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: STRAT1, STRAT3, H1, H2, ENV1

Judgments cited: Crane v SoS For Communities and Local Government and Harborough DC [2015] EWHC 425

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.