Land East of Ploughley Road, Ambrosden, OX25 2AD

up to 120 dwellings, vehicular and pedestrian access off Ploughley Road, surface water drainage, foul water drainage, landscaping, public open space, biodiversity and associated infrastructure. Access off Ploughley Road is not reserved for future consideration

Authority: Cherwell District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Longmuir J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The Inspector's finding that the landscape and character harm arising from the development was limited (reducing to very limited over time), meaning the proposal complied with the relevant development plan policies taken as a whole.

The limited/very limited landscape harm was outweighed by the substantial benefits of the scheme (affordable housing, housing delivery and social/economic benefits secured by the s.106 agreement), and as the proposal accorded with the development plan as a whole this reinforced the decision to allow the appeal.

Framework references: 56, 57, 77, 97, 191, 226

Plan policies cited: Policy PV 2, Policy ESD 13, Policy ESD 15, Policy H18, Policy C15, Policy BSC1, Policy BSC3, Policy BSC10, Policy BSC12, Policy INF1

Judgments cited: Tesco Stores v Dundee [2012] UKSC 13, Paragraphs 18-19; R (Cherkley Campaign Ltd) v Mole Valley District Council and another [2014] EWCA Civ 567 Paragraph 16

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.