®Planning appeal decision
Culham Hill, Culham, OX14 3DT
change of use of land from agricultural land to farm park, wildlife and outdoor activity centre, associated buildings and outdoor play structures, mountain bike trail, formation of a new vehicle / pedestrian access off the A415, associated engineering works, drainage and landscaping
- Authority
- South Oxfordshire District Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- leisure-sport · Change of use
- Inspector
- Edwards J
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal would incorporate inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) and LP policies
- its effect on the character and appearance of the area
- whether the development would be in a suitable location having regard to LP policies
- if the proposal would include inappropriate development, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify it
What decided it
The harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, loss of openness and harm to character and appearance was not clearly outweighed by the identified benefits, so very special circumstances did not exist.
the very substantial harm to the Green Belt (inappropriateness, openness and character/appearance) and the very substantial benefits of the scheme were finely balanced, and because harm must be 'clearly outweighed' for very special circumstances to exist, the balance tipped against the proposal
Framework references: 149, 150, 138, 145, 147, 148, 84, 57
Plan policies cited: Policy STRAT6, Policy STRAT1, Policy STRAT9, Policy ENV1, Policy DES1, Policy DES2, Policy EMP10, Policy EMP11, Policy INF1, Policy TRANS2, Policy TRANS4, Policy TRANS5
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.