®Planning appeal decision
The Old Telephone Exchange, 32a Church Road, Benson, Wallingford , OX10 6SF
Planning appeal 3278513 at The Old Telephone Exchange, 32a Church Road, Benson, Wallingford , OX10 6SF (South Oxfordshire District Council) was allowed on 30 November 2021 by Inspector Blackwell J, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area.
described on the application form as replacing 2 existing brick former telephone exchange buildings with new one bedroom residential dwelling, with live work studio above, re-using the existing access and parking area
- Authority
- South Oxfordshire District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Blackwell J
- Postcode
- OX10 6SF
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
- whether or not the proposed development would afford future occupiers acceptable living conditions
- the effect of the proposed development on highway safety
What decided it
The proposed development's similar footprint and scale to existing buildings, combined with sympathetic design and materials, would integrate acceptably with the area's character, while the traffic generation from a one-bedroom dwelling would be broadly neutral when assessed against the lawful commercial use previously authorised on the site.
The benefits of bringing a vacant, long-unused site back into productive use through residential development outweighed any concerns regarding character, living conditions, and highway safety, all of which were found to be acceptable or neutral.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- DES5DES6H1TRANS5
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 195
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.