Evans Jones Ltd has recently applied for planning permission for a high quality bespoke rural housing scheme on the edge of the village of Greet near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire.
The site lies within the administrative area of Tewkesbury Borough Council which currently has an out of date Local Plan and a lack of housing.
These factors meant Evans Jones Planning Consultancy team was successfully able to persuade Tewkesbury Borough planning officers, and at the planning committee meeting on 4th August 2015 members resolved to grant permission on this site subject to the completion of a section 106 agreement.
The site comprises arable land, on what is designated as a Special Landscape Area (SLA). However, the application was supported by detailed landscape appraisal to demonstrate that there would be no adverse impact on the landscape, and a planning statement extoling the social and economic benefits of the scheme.
In our view this is evidence that, at the present time with several local authorities including Tewkesbury Borough still without an up to date Development Plan, the Governments National Planning Policy Frameworks pro-growth ethos is taking precedence in decision making.
This case study shows that local authorities cannot withhold planning permission for new housing schemes on the edge of settlements, including those outside of defined settlement boundaries, where they will clearly contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development.
The Planning Application Reference is15/00370/FUL and can be found on the council website here
For more information about our Planning Consultancy services contact David Jones