Land South of Main Road, Curbridge, Oxon, OX29 7NT

provision of up to 25 dwellings (including affordable housing and self-build housing) with access, parking, amenity space, open space, landscaping, drainage and associated works

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

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal is sustainable development that is in accordance with the Development Plan, when read as a whole, with particular reference to: (a) the scale and location of the proposed development in the context of the policy approach to housing development at Curbridge; (b) the development's impact on the listed Thatched Cottage; (c) the effect of the proposed development on the character of the area, including the form of the village and its landscape setting; (d) the effect of the proposal on the Public Right of Way that crosses the site and the proposed changes to the pedestrian network
Whether there are any benefits of the proposal that are of sufficient weight to outweigh the presumption in favour of determining planning applications in accordance with the Development Plan

What decided it

The less than substantial harm to the significance of the Grade II listed Thatched Cottage, combined with harm to the character, appearance and landscape setting of the village, was not outweighed by the benefits of the scheme.

The less than substantial harm to the listed building's significance, together with harm to character/appearance and landscape setting, outweighed the benefits of housing delivery including self/custom-build and affordable housing, tipping the balance against the proposal.

Framework references: 11, 57, 60, 205, 208, 209

Plan policies cited: Policy H1, Policy H2, Policy OS2, Policy OS4, Policy T1, Policy T3

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.