Land East of Worton Road, Middle Barton, Oxfordshire, OX7 7EE

‘Outline planning for development of up to 28 dwellings, vehicular access, green infrastructure including landscaping, and related drainage and other infrastructure works, (all matters reserved other than access from Worton Road)’

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

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
Whether the appeal site represents a suitable location for the proposal, with regard to local and national spatial planning policy

What decided it

The substantial harm to the character and appearance of the area combined with the significant harm arising from an unsustainable, car-dependent location outweighed the housing benefits.

the substantial harm to character and appearance and the significant harm from over-reliance on private vehicles significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits of housing delivery, affordable housing, economic and biodiversity considerations

Framework references: 135, 109, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy OS2, Policy OS4, Policy H2, Policy T1, Policy T3, Policy H3

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.