Land off Brook Lane, Cropthorne, Worcestershire, WR10 3JY

permission in principle for a single self-build dwelling

Authority: Wychavon District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Thandi B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the site is suitable for residential development, having regard to its location, the proposed land use and the amount of development

What decided it

The Council's failure to demonstrate it was meeting its statutory obligations to provide sufficient self-build and custom housebuilding plots, combined with the proposal's accordance with the Framework's presumption in favour of sustainable development where no relevant development plan policies exist, outweighed the conflict with the settlement boundary policy.

The benefits of delivering self-build and custom housing, contributing to housing supply, meeting local need, providing social and economic benefits during construction, and protecting the surrounding landscape significantly and demonstrably outweighed the minor harm of locating beyond the settlement boundary, engaging the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Framework references: 105, 62, 79, 174, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy SWDP2 Part C, Policy SWDP4, Policy SWDP25

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.