Description
Erection of up to 40 homes, associated open space, local area of play and other infrastructure, with all matters reserved save for that of access.(as amended by layout plans and supporting information received 2 January 2018)
Conditions / Refusal Reasons
Policies CSQ3 and CSEN1 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy require development to be of a high quality and to respond positively to, and respect, the character of the site and its surroundings. Development will be supported where it enhances local distinctiveness and is of a scale, type and density that is appropriate to the site and its setting. Policy D1 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan requires development to respect existing and distinctive settlement patterns and the character of the existing landscape.
A development of up to 40 dwellings cannot be adequately accommodated on the site without resulting in a development that is out of character with the rural character of the village, or being incongruous with the existing settlement pattern. The parameter plans set out a developable area that is too constrained to address these matters through a redesign of the scheme at reserved matters stage, without compromising important landscape buffering. The development fails to respect the rural character of the settlement and its setting and therefore conflicts with policies CSQ3 and CSEN1 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy and policies D1, C4 and G2 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan.
Policy CSQ3 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy sets out that development will be supported where it is of a scale, type and density that is appropriate to the site and its setting. Policy CSS1 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy allows for limited amounts of housing in the smaller villages to contribute a proportionate level of development to the overarching strategy for the district. The introduction of up to 40 dwellings to the village represents a disproportionate addition to a smaller village and overdevelopment of the site. The harm associated with the scale of development, in relation to the size of the existing village, and the lack of sustainability of the location, substantially outweighs the benefits. The development therefore conflicts with the overarching strategy for the district and policies CSQ3 and CSS1 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy.
Paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework indicates that where relevant policies are out of date permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the Framework. In light of the council's current lack of a five year supply of deliverable housing sites, policies CSS1, CSR1 and CSH1 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy carry reduced weight. The tilted balance set out in paragraph 49 of the NPPF is engaged, and requires housing applications to be considered in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Limited services and facilities are available in the village, and occupants of the development would be overly reliant on private transport to travel to work, local shops and secondary school education. Poor connectivity limits sustainable travel to the closest larger villages, exposing pedestrians and cyclists to highway risk and providing limited opportunity to travel by bus. Lewknor does not represent a sustainable location for this scale of development. Even in the context of reduced weight being afforded to housing policies, the proposal does not constitute sustainable development. The harm resulting from the development would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits and under the provision of the Framework is refused on these grounds.
In the absence of a completed Section 106 legal agreement, the proposal fails to secure infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of the development. As such, the development would be contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework, policies CSI1 and CSM2 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy and policies R2, R6 and T1 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011.
In the absence of a completed Section 106 legal agreement, the proposal fails to secure affordable housing to meet the needs of the District. As such, the development would be contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework and policy CSH3 of the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy.