Agenda item

The case officer, Jemma Foster presented the report which recommended approval be granted for an outline application for the erection of one detached dwelling on land outside of the existing village settlement limits.  The key planning issues identified in the officer’s presentation were outlined and comprised: the principle of the application and impact on the character and appearance of the area and duly referenced the fact that the site was sited within an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. In response to queries it was confirmed that the site lay outside the limits of development and officers advised that due consideration should be given to the respective exemptions set out in the NPPF in the context of paragraph 14, whereby the presumption in favour of sustainable development does not automatically apply to protected sites such as the AONB.  The Council’s current housing land supply shortfall was still a material consideration and due regard should be given to the benefit(s) associated to delivering one additional dwelling.  Members were also advised that officers had reflected upon the AONB Management Plan and that it was a material consideration in the determination of the application.

Public Participation

Richard Cosker, agent, spoke in support of the application.

Simon Martyr, applicant, spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Tom Thornton, Codford Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application.

The applicant and his agent followed by the representative from Codford Parish Council then had the opportunity to present their views to the Committee, as detailed above.

Councillor Christopher Newbury, the local unitary member, then spoke regarding the application, noting the concerns of the Parish Council and detailing the ongoing process to review the limits of development, but that at present the site lay beyond it.

A debate followed, and a motion to approve in accordance with the officer’s recommendation was moved by Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Phillipe, seconded by Councillor Roy While.

The proposed motion was debated, and due consideration was given to site’s position on the edge of the village, the number and proximity of houses near to the site and the extent of the impacts the development may have on the protected countryside followed.

Following a vote the motion to approve the application was lost.

A motion to refuse the application was then moved by Councillor Christopher Newbury, seconded by Councillor Trevor Carbin.

The proposed motion was debated and due consideration was given to the Parish Council who have undertaken a recent housing needs survey which did not indicate that a house such as that proposed was required in the village. Further discussion was also undertaken regarding the visual intrusion the proposed dwelling would have on the wider AONB.

Following discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To refuse the application for the following reasons:

The site is located in the open countryside and there is no special agricultural, forestry or other overriding justification to allow such a residential development. Whilst the benefit(s) of delivering one additional dwelling at a time when the Council cannot demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply was recognised and taken into account, great weight was given to the site’s AONB designation and protected status and due regard was given to the exemptions as set out within the Framework in the context of paragraph 14.  In weighing up the planning balance, the Council found the proposal would result in an unacceptable encroachment into the open countryside that would have an adverse impact upon the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and as such, would conflict with adopted Core Strategy Policy CP51 as well as Core Policy 2 and the guidance contained in the NPPF.