Planning Application Details

The site is situated on paddock land which falls outside of the built up area of Crowmarsh Preston and is within the open countryside. The proposed development would have no direct pedestrian access to the village and would therefore be detached from public services and social and community facilities. Due to the isolated location away from the village the proposed development would not constitute sustainable development. The development therefore fails to accord with policies STRAT1 and H1 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, policies NP1 and NP27 of the Benson Neighbourhood Plan, and the NPPF.

The proposed development would be situated on important open space situated outside of the built area of the village. This area is characterised by its open green landscape. The development would create an overbearing impact that would be detrimental to the visual amenities of the locality and would lead to a progressive detraction from the rural character and appearance of the area and the surrounding open countryside The development therefore fails to accord with policies STRAT1, ENV1, DES1 and DES2 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, policies N1, NP27 and NP28 of the Benson Neighbourhood Plan, and the NPPF.

The development would be built on an area of paddock which is an important open space between the village and the grade II listed Crowmarsh Battle Barns site which was a self-contained manorial complex separate from the village. This isolation forms an important part of the listed buildings setting and status. The development would result in less than substantial harm to the significance of the adjacent listed buildings. The development would fail to provide any public benefits to outweigh the harm caused by the proposed development on the setting of the grade II listed buildings to the south. A structure of the scale proposed would appear incongruous within the setting of the grade II listed Crowmarsh Battle Barns. The development would appear out of context with the contained character of the existing barns and farmhouse which would undermine the significance of the buildings on the Crowmarsh Battle Barn site. The development therefore fails to accord with policies ENV6, ENV7 and ENV10 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, policy NP6 of the Benson Neighbourhood Plan, and paragraphs 199 and 202 of the NPPF.

The site is located within an area of archaeological interest and potential which is situated immediately adjacent to the west of a significant moated site which is likely to date to the medieval period. An archaeological evaluation conducted 80 metres to the north of the site has revealed medieval finds and features, holloways and other medieval features lie immediately to the east. Other archaeological findings within 500 metres of the site range from prehistoric to post-medieval periods. It is therefore likely that further archaeological features may be encountered by this development. The applicant has not completed an archaeological field evaluation and has therefore failed to take into account the high potential for significant archaeological remains situated on the site. The development is therefore contrary to policy ENV9 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, policy NP6 of the Benson Neighbourhood Plan, paragraphs 194, 195 and 197 of the NPPF.