We were contacted by a client concerned about proposals to build new housing on agricultural land adjoining her home on the edge of her village in West Devon. .

The application sought to exploit a provision within the locally adopted development plan, whereby limited new housing development may be permitted in certain “sustainable villages”. However, on further investigation, we found that:

“This policy clearly states that development within the sustainable villages should be provided through locally adopted neighbourhood plans. It also states that such development should meet identified local needs. It must also be considered against other policies of the Joint Local Plan, including important policies for the protection of local character and amenities.”

We found that:

“This site is not identified in a locally adopted neighbourhood plan. Neither is there any evidence to indicate that it would meet identified local housing needs.”

Drawing on our extensive experience in such matters, we also noted that the scheme appeared to have been deliberately contrived to avoid providing affordable housing. In particular:

“This proposal is presented as part one of a two-phase project involving an adjoining parcel of land. The indicative layout of this first phase is clearly designed to facilitate access to, and development of, the adjoining land… It therefore appears to us that this site is clearly envisaged as an integral part of a larger, more comprehensive development for which on-site affordable housing provision should be made. The only conclusion we can draw from this is that this proposal for only part of the land is deliberately contrived in a cynical attempt to avoid triggering a requirement for affordable housing.”

We were also able to argue that the site was not within the village for planning policy purposes, and therefore lacked the necessary planning policy support:

“This is not an infill site within an otherwise built-up frontage. Neither would the proposed development provide a natural rounding-off of the established village envelope. On the contrary, the built-up area of the village follows the natural topography and is largely concealed from public view as the village is approached from the north. This serves to provide a soft edge to the village, thereby preserving its rural character, appearance and setting within the wider landscape.”

Being concerned that the proposal might still be considered as what is known as a “rural exception site”, we made further representations to address this possibility, noting that the relevant policy criteria were not satisfied. We were able to support our arguments with detailed analysis and policy references, thereby ensuring the client’s objections carried the maximum possible weight in planning terms.

The planning application was refused.

Note: Full details of the case have not been disclosed to protect the client’s privacy. Images shown are for illustrative purposes only and do not show the actual case.