Agenda item

Refused against officer recommendation. Reasons to be set out in the minutes.

The Committee considered application 21/03267/OUT, an application for outline planning permission (all matters reserved except for access) for the erection of buildings comprising logistics (Use Class B8) and ancillary Office (Use Class E(g)(i)) floorspace and associated infrastructure; construction of new site access from the B4100; creation of internal roads and access routes; and hard and soft landscaping at OS Parcel 0006 South East Of Baynards House Adjoining A43 Baynards Green for Albion Land.

Emma Lancaster, agent on behalf of the applicant, addressed the Committee meeting in support of the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Parkinson and seconded by Councillor Rogers that application 21/03267/OUT be refused, against officer recommendation, as the proposed development would result in unjustified encroachment into open countryside and cause unacceptable landscape harm and development would fail to protect and enhance the natural environment and biodiversity and the proposal was contrary to policies of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011–2031, saved Policies C8 and C28 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996, and Government guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework with the exact wording for the reasons for refusal to be delegated to officers.

In reaching its decision the Committee considered the officer’s report and presentation, the addresses by public speakers and the written updates.

Resolved

That, contrary to the officer’s recommendation, application 21/03267/OUT be reused for the following reasons:

1. The proposed development, due to its scale, massing and bulky form, would appear as a prominent and visually intrusive feature within this open countryside location, eroding the rural character of the landscape and blocking established views across the central Cherwell area and towards Stoke Wood. The scheme represents sporadic and incongruous development remote from any settlement and fails to demonstrate compatibility with, or integration into, its rural surroundings. As such, the proposal would result in unjustified encroachment into open countryside and cause unacceptable landscape harm, contrary to Policies ESD13 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011–2031, saved Policies C8 and C28 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996, and Government guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Local Planning Authority considers that this harm would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal.

2. The site lies adjacent to ecological corridors used by bats, birds and small mammals moving between the surrounding countryside and Stoke Wood, an ecologically significant and Woodland Trust–managed site. The extensive built form, associated lighting and activity would disrupt these established flight paths and wildlife movements, and the proposal does not adequately demonstrate that such impacts would be avoided or mitigated. The hedgerows surrounding the site also represent important biodiversity features that would be adversely affected. The development therefore fails to protect and enhance the natural environment and biodiversity. As such the proposal fails to accord with policy ESD10 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 and Government guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework. The Local Planning Authority consider that such harmful ecological impact would substantially and demonstrably outweigh the benefits associated with the proposal.

3. In the absence of a satisfactory unilateral undertaking or any other form of Section 106 planning obligation legal agreement, the Local Planning Authority is not satisfied that the proposed development would provide appropriate transport infrastructure and landscape and ecological mitigation required as a direct result of the development, and which would be necessary to make the impacts of the development acceptable in planning terms. As such, the proposal is contrary to Policy INF1 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031, Cherwell District Council’s Developer Contributions SPD 2018 and Government guidance within the National Planning Policy Framework.