Nineveh Farm, Nuneham Courtney, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX44 9PA

installation of renewable led energy generating station comprising ground mounted photovoltaic solar arrays and battery- based electricity storage containers together with substation, inverter/transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements without complying with a condition attached to planning permission Ref P20/S4360/FUL, dated 11.01.22

Authority: South Oxfordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Nicholls H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effects of the proposal on the openness of the Green Belt
the landscape and visual amenity of the surrounding area
designated heritage assets in the surrounding area
Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land
whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harms, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The public benefits from prolonged renewable energy generation and carbon offsetting to 2050 and beyond constitute very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the identified harms to Green Belt openness, landscape, heritage assets and agricultural land.

Framework references: 202

Plan policies cited: STRAT6, ENV1, DES1, DES9, DES7

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.