Agenda item

Refused reasons to be set out in the minutes.

The Committee considered application 15/02264/OUT, an outline application for 10 No dwellings with revised access and the demolition of existing dwelling at By Ingleby, Station Road, Bletchingdon, Kidlington, OX5 3AX for Lexham Stone Limited.

In reaching their decision, the Committee considered the Officers’ report and presentation and written update.

Resolved

That application 15/02264/OUT be refused for the following reasons:

1          The proposals seek to create new residential properties in a wholly unsustainable location on the edge of a settlement that contains almost no facilities, services or amenities and to which there is no meaningful alternative to use of the private car for access to employment nor higher or lower order services. To compound matters the site is very poorly integrated with the existing settlement given that it is divorced from it by the A4095 with the result that it would not even enable safe, attractive or convenient pedestrian or cycle access to the limited facilities available within Enslow. As a consequence the proposals would give rise to a heavily car dependent development that conflicts with the environmental sustainability objectives inherent within the requirements of Policies ESD1, BSC1, Villages 1 and Villages 2 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as the sustainability objectives set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

 2         The proposals would result in inappropriate encroachment of built development into what is visibly open countryside that would, by its very nature, scale and size, introduce an inappropriate suburbanisation to the rural landscape and in turn detract from and erode the inherent natural beauty of the countryside. The proposals therefore fail to accord with Policy C8 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996 and Policy ESD13 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 that together seek to protect the countryside from encroachment in the interests of preserving this irreplaceable natural resource,

 3         Having regard to the location of the site and its position such that it is fundamentally divorced from the core built-up areas of Enslow, the proposals represent development that would both functionally as well as visibly fail to integrate successfully with the existing settlement and thus fail to respect the established grain and layout of the settlement to the detriment of its character and appearance as well as that of the surrounding countryside. Consequently the proposals fail to accord with the requirements of Policies ESD13 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 and Policy C28 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996.

 4         The proposal represents an under-development of the site given that, due to its size and layout, it evidently has the capacity to accommodate more dwellings. Such an alternative scheme would generate a requirement to contribute towards off-site delivery of affordable housing. In the absence of any commitment to provide such a financial contribution or any viability appraisal to justify otherwise, it can only be concluded that the proposed development would be contrary to the requirements of Policy BSC3 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 which seeks to create mixed and balanced communities.

 5         The proposals would result in the creation of a replacement and more heavily used vehicular access from a national speed limit road that due to traffic speeds, landscaping and road alignment would have inadequate visibility splays. As a result both ingress and egress from the site would be inherently dangerous and detrimental to the safety of all road users. Consequently the proposals fail to provide safe and suitable access for all contrary to the requirements of Policy SLE4 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 and national policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

 6         As a result of the lack of detail provided of the new footway and the absence of sufficient information to demonstrate that it can be satisfactorily delivered as well as the wholly inadequate visibility splays at the proposed pedestrian crossing of the A4095, the proposed development would fail to provide safe and suitable pedestrian connectivity with Enslow village and in turn would fail to prioritise sustainable modes of transport above the private car contrary to the requirements of Policy SLE4 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 and national policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

 7         In the absence of the completion of a satisfactory legal agreement the local planning authority cannot be content that both the on and off-site impacts of the development can be appropriately mitigated in the interests of safeguarding public infrastructure, mitigating highway safety concerns, delivering mixed and balanced communities and securing suitable on-site future maintenance arrangements. Consequently, in this respect, the proposals are contrary to the requirements of Policy INF1, BSC3, BSC9, BSC11 and ESD7 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1.