Land to the north of Whychurch Farm, Malmesbury, SN16 9HZ

outline planning application (all matters reserved except means of access) for residential development, including the construction of dwellings, the creation of a new vehicular access with footways and cycle ways and ancillary road infrastructure, public open space, children’s play area, allotments, landscape planting, surface water attenuation and associated infrastructure

Authority: Wiltshire Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Nunn M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is in a suitable location for development having regard to development plan policy
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11(d)(ii), triggered by the Council's inability to demonstrate a five year housing land supply, meant the substantial housing delivery benefits were not significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the limited landscape and policy-conflict harms.

the substantial benefits of housing delivery, including affordable housing, outweighed the minimal landscape harm and the diminished-weight conflict with development plan policies, so that adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits

Framework references: 48, 174, 57, 56, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy CP1, Policy CP2, Policy CP13, Policy H4, Policy CP51, Policy CP3, Policy CP57

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.