®Planning appeal decision
Land West of Northwick Road, Worcester, WR3 7EJ
erection of an up to 70 bedroom care home (class C2) together with associated infrastructure, parking and access
- Authority
- Wychavon District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- community-institutional · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Ford K
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect on landscape character
- The effect on the significance of nearby designated heritage assets including Common Hill House and Riverside Conservation Area
- Whether the development would deliver biodiversity net gain
- Whether the development would secure financial contributions towards transport infrastructure
What decided it
The less than substantial harm to the setting of designated heritage assets, which the Inspector found to be significant and greater than the lower end of the spectrum, was not outweighed by the public benefits of the proposal, including housing delivery and economic benefits.
The Council's inability to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply engaged the tilted balance under NPPF paragraph 11d, but the clear reasons to refuse provided by heritage protection policies meant the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply; the less than substantial heritage harm outweighed the benefits of housing delivery and economic benefits
Framework references: 11, 174, 208
Plan policies cited: Policy SWDP21, Policy SWDP25, Policy NCD1, Policy SWDP6, Policy SWDP22, Policy NCLE5, Policy SWDP7
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.