44 Common Road, North Leigh, Oxfordshire, OX29 6RB

the demolition of existing residential property, construction of a new access onto Common Road with the erection of 10 detached and semi-detached two storey dwellings, associated garaging and parking, landscaping and all enabling works

Authority: West Oxfordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Plenty B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The main issue is the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, the setting of the village and on the local landscape.

What decided it

The moderate harm to character and appearance did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of housing delivery in the context of a substantial shortfall in the Council's 5-year housing land supply.

The moderate harm to the character and appearance of the area did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the considerable weight attached to the delivery of nine net additional homes (including affordable housing) against a backdrop of a seriously deficient housing land supply, so the presumption in favour of sustainable development was applied and the appeal allowed.

Framework references: 57, 9, 11

Plan policies cited: LP Policy OS2, LP policy H2, LP policy H3, LP policy H4, LP policy EH2, LP policy EH3, LP policy OS4

Judgments cited: Dartford BC v SoS [2016] EWHC 635 (admin)

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.