Northfield Farm, Withington Road, Andoversford, Cheltenham, GL54 4LJ

Change of use and conversion of agricultural buildings into 5 dwellings, one with an annex plus associated landscaping

Authority: Cotswold District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Plenty B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal, including the design of the dwellings, on the character and appearance of the area including the Cotswolds National Landscape
The effect of the proposed development on highway safety
Whether the proposed scheme would function well from a waste collection perspective
The effect of the proposal on the integrity of the Cotswold Beechwoods SAC

What decided it

The substantial harm to the character and appearance of the Cotswolds National Landscape resulting from the insensitive design of the barn conversions, combined with unacceptable highway safety impacts and failure to provide adequate waste collection arrangements, outweighed the benefits of housing delivery and environmental enhancements.

Framework references: 84, 189, 117

Plan policies cited: Policy DS1, Policy DS2, Policy DS4, Policy EC6, Policy EN1, Policy EN2, Policy EN4, Policy EN5, Policy H2, Policy INF4

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.