Former Bell Inn, Church View, Manor Road, Great Bourton, OX17 1QP

change of use of The Bell Inn Public House (Sui Generis Use) to use as a dwellinghouse (Class C3 Use) and associated minor external alterations to the building and works

Authority: Cherwell District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Change of use
Inspector: Conde L

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether it has been demonstrated that the public house is no longer financially viable in the long term

What decided it

It had not been demonstrated that the public house was no longer viable in the long term, including as a potential community-owned enterprise, so its loss could not be justified under Saved Policy S29.

The significant weight given to conflict with the development plan and the loss of a valued village service significantly and demonstrably outweighed the modest benefits of housing delivery and socio-economic benefits, such that the presumption in favour of sustainable development did not apply

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Saved Policy S29 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996

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.