Land near Stratton Audley, Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire, OX27 9AL

the ‘Installation and operation of a renewable energy generating station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays and battery-based electricity storage containers together with a switchgear container, inverter/transformer units, Site access, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure and landscaping and biodiversity enhancements’

Authority: Cherwell District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Parker C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, including landscape.

What decided it

The substantial weight attributed to material considerations supporting renewable energy development outweighed the moderate harm found to character and appearance.

the moderate harm to character and appearance and the resulting conflict with the development plan was outweighed by the substantial weight afforded to material considerations in favour of renewable energy, such that the appeal was allowed

Framework references: 11, 57, 125, 161

Plan policies cited: Policy ESD5, Policy ESD10, Policy ESD13, Policy ESD15, Policy C28

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.