®Planning appeal decision
Freeland Methodist Church, Wroslyn Road, Freeland, Oxfordshire, OX29 8AQ
the conversion of Methodist Church (F1) to form a single dwelling, with associated works
- Authority
- West Oxfordshire District Council
- Appeal type
- other · Listed Building Consent & Conservation Area Consent Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Parsons J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the development would preserve the Grade II listed building, known as the Chapel, or any feature of special architectural or historic interest it possesses
- Whether an appropriate alternative would exist to the chapel's use, having regard to local plan policy
- The effect of the proposal on the living conditions of residents, having regard to external amenity space provision
What decided it
The failure to demonstrate that residential use is the optimum viable use for the listed building's conservation, combined with the special regard required by s.66(1) and s.16(2) of the Act to preserve the listed building, meant the modest housing benefits could not outweigh the less than substantial harm identified.
The less than substantial harm to the listed building was weighed against the public benefits of securing its optimum viable use and boosting housing land supply; the harm outweighed the benefits because residential use was not demonstrated to be the optimum viable use when a community shop and café use was viable and would better conserve the heritage asset
Framework references: 209, 203
Plan policies cited: Policy E5, Policy OS4, Policy OS2, Policy H2, Policy EH9, Policy EH11
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.