Conditions / Refusal Reasons
That, the site lies within the Oxford Green Belt, where there is a general presumption against certain forms of development in order to conserve the special and historic character of the City and to preserve the countryside outside it. The National Planning Policy Framework makes no provision for the change of use of land within the Green Belt and as such, the principle of the development is unacceptable and it represents inappropriate development which is harmful be definition. Furthermore, the change of use of the land to domestic garden would be likely to result in changes such as planting, its use for sitting out, play and incidental uses and these would serve to emphasise the change in character and appearance from an agricultural use to a residential use. These changes would be damaging to the openness, rural character and visual amenity of the Green Belt and represent an encroachment into the countryside, contrary to saved Policies G2, G4 and GB4 of the adopted South Oxfordshire Local Plan, to Policy CSEN2 of the adopted South Oxfordshire Core Strategy and to the National Planning Policy Framework.
That the site lies within the Oxford Green Belt, where there is a general presumption against new development in order to conserve the special and historic character of the City and to preserve the countryside outside it. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) directs that the construction of new buildings in the Green Belt should be regarded as inappropriate development, save for a number of exceptions. The erection of a new domestic outbuilding is not one of those exceptions. The proposal therefore represents inappropriate development within the Green Belt which is harmful by definition and no very special circumstances exist that would outweigh the harm to the openness and visual amenity of the Green Belt. The development is therefore contrary to Policy GB4 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan, Policy CSEN2 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy and to the principles of the National Planning Policy Framework.
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