Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 30 July 2024 by O Marigold BSc DipTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 6th August 2024 Appeal Ref: APP/P0119/W/23/3330000 Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Michael Shears against the decision of South Gloucestershire Council. • The application Ref is P23/00570/F. • The development proposed is erection of 1no. self-build dwelling. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issues 2. The main issues are: • whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) and any relevant Development Plan policies, including its effect on openness, • the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, and • if the proposal is inappropriate, whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the proposal. Reasons Green Belt 3.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision The site lies within the Bristol and Bath Green Belt. The Framework makes clear that the fundamental aim of the Green Belt is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. Inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. Paragraph 154 of the Framework identifies development that is not inappropriate in the Green Belt. New buildings are inappropriate unless, relevant to this proposal, they represent ‘limited infilling in villages’ in accordance with Framework paragraph 154(e). 4. Policy CS5 of the South Gloucestershire Core Strategy (SGCS), adopted December 2013, permits small scale development within village settlement boundaries in the Green Belt. Otherwise, development must comply with the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P0119/W/23/3330000 Framework or relevant SGCS policies. This includes Policy CS34, which protects the Green Belt from inappropriate development. These policies are consistent with the Framework and so have full weight. 5. The site consists of a field, said to no longer be in active agricultural use. It is undeveloped, surrounded by hedgerows and for much of its perimeter adjoins other countryside. The proposal would be outside of the Local Plan settlement boundary for Almondsbury. However, the Court of Appeal in Wood1 confirms that a settlement boundary may not necessarily determine whether the site is within a village for Green Belt purposes. There is no dispute that the site is within Almondsbury, albeit on its edge. 6. The proposal is for a single dwelling and so is numerically small. It would have two distinct elements linked by glazing, with low-height sections close to the entrance. Even so, the building would have a wide, deep and sprawling footprint, with its tallest two-storey element being furthest from the closest built form of the village. Accordingly, the proposal would have a large spread, scale and mass. Its extent would not therefore be ‘limited’. 7.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision The SGCS defines infilling as the development of a relatively small gap between existing buildings. Close to the site is land that is banked-up. However, this does not provide a physical feature of sufficient magnitude to distinguish the site from the wider countryside. The site partially adjoins residential gardens, but they have little if any built form close to the site. Consequently, the appeal site is not a gap between buildings. As a field, the site is not relatively small in the context of a proposal for a single dwelling and would be fairly profligate in its use of land. As such, the proposal would not amount to infilling. For the above reasons, Framework Paragraph 154(e) would not be met. 8. The wider pattern of development in the village extends further in a western direction than would the proposal. Even so, it would encroach into the countryside formed by the appeal site, conflicting with one of the Green Belt purposes. Existing and enhanced vegetation may well limit views of the proposal obtainable from Marshwall Lane, but this cannot be relied upon in winter when foliage is reduced. Furthermore, parts of the mass of the proposal may well be visible from the site entrance, including the glazed link.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision As such, the spatial and visual effects of the proposal would lead to a significant reduction in the openness of the Green Belt hereabouts. 9. For the reasons given above, the proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and the relevant Development Plan policies. It would also harm the openness of the Green Belt. Consequently, the proposal would conflict with SGCS Policies CS5 and CS34, and with the Framework. Character and Appearance 10. The site has an attractive, pastoral appearance providing relief from the built- up village. Some parts of Almondsbury have developed with a sporadic layout, such as the large, detached houses on Townsend Lane, where another Inspector2 identified the variations in the age, form, scale and materials of dwellings in the street scene. 1 Julian Wood v SSCLG and Gravesham Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 195 2 PINS reference APP/P0119/W/20/3264269 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P0119/W/23/3330000 11. Immediately adjacent to the appeal site is a short terrace of modest dwellings, fronting but set back from Marshwall Lane. Other dwellings nearby, such as those on Tockington Lane, have a similar ordered and planned layout, with fairly deep setbacks. These include a semi-detached pair of houses nearby, in a roughly diagonal position to both lanes. The existing layout gives the area a suburban appearance, with consistent building lines and a degree of uniformity. 12. The proposal would have a contemporary design with the two distinct sections each being perpendicular to the other, and the whole being angled away from Marshwall Lane. The orientation of the single-storey section would broadly align with that of the nearby semi-detached pair. There are examples of dwellings in the village with gabled roofs that intersect at right angles or that have a more ad-hoc layout. 13. However, in the context of the appeal site, the proposal would not reflect the building line of the adjacent short terrace, protruding well beyond it. The large scale, mass and sprawling footprint of the proposal would contrast harmfully with the more regular, planned and modest grain of dwellings nearby.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision The proposed extensive use of timber cladding is perhaps intended to give an agricultural flavour. Nevertheless, this is not a feature common to dwellings locally and appears somewhat contrived. As such, this material would appear out of place. 14. As a new dwelling, and given its size and extent, the proposal would inherently urbanise the site, as would the residential paraphernalia associated with it, such as the driveway and parking areas. It would therefore diminish the rural character of the site and its surroundings. I have already found that landscaping cannot be relied upon to overcome this impact. 15. For the reasons given above, the proposal would undermine the rural appearance of the site and the surrounding landscape and would appear incongruous in the street scene. It would therefore have a harmful effect on the character and appearance of the area, conflicting with SGCS policies CS1 and CS34, and Policies PSP1 and PSP2 of the South Gloucestershire Local Plan: Policies, Sites and Places Plan, adopted November 2017. These require proposals to respect local distinctiveness and character, to protect and enhance rural areas and to conserve the landscape.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision It would also conflict with the similar requirements of the Framework. Other Considerations 16. Framework Paragraph 152 states that inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. Paragraph 63 of the Framework identifies the importance of meeting the needs of different groups, including those wishing to commission or build their own homes. There is no dispute that the Council is not meeting the need for Self and Custom Build housing (SCB), with a high level of demand. 17. At Hortham Lane in Almondsbury3, the Council’s members resolved some years ago to grant permission for SCB in the Green Belt. However, I have few details of this development, or of other cases cited in the village such as 4a Townsend 3 LPA Reference PT16/3579/O https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P0119/W/23/3330000 Lane, with which to draw comparisons. At Holyport, Berkshire4, another Inspector allowed SCB in the Green Belt. However, this related to a proposal in a different Council area, and for four dwellings, and so is not directly comparable. As a single dwelling, the proposal before me would make only a modest contribution to housing supply and particularly the supply of SCB in South Gloucestershire. I therefore give this benefit moderate positive weight. 18. Construction of the proposal would make a positive economic contribution locally, for instance to the building industry. Its future occupiers would also make social and economic contributions. The proposal would be built to high environmental standards and includes minor ecological enhancements. It would be close to services and facilities and could be delivered quickly. However, as a single dwelling, these benefits would be modest and so I give them limited positive weight. Planning Balance and Conclusion 19.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 states that applications for planning permission, and therefore appeals, must be determined in accordance with the Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 20. The proposal would cause harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and a reduction in its openness. These both attract substantial negative weight. I have also attached significant negative weight to the harm to the character and appearance of the area. Against that, I have given weight to the benefits of the proposal as identified above. 21. In weighing up the harms with the benefits, I find that the other considerations in this case do not clearly outweigh the harm that I have identified. Consequently, the very special circumstances necessary to justify the proposal do not exist. Having regard to paragraph 11(d) of the Framework, its policies that protect areas or assets of particular importance (in this case the Green Belt) provide a clear reason for refusing the proposal. As such, the presumption in favour of sustainable development does not apply. 22. For the reasons given, I have found conflict with the Development Plan as a whole.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — Appeal Decision The material considerations in this case do not indicate a decision other than in accordance with the Development Plan. This leads me to conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Land off Marshwall Lane, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire , BS32 4EB — South Gloucestershire Council — O Marigold INSPECTOR 4 PINS references APP/T0355/W/22/3309281 and APP/T0355/W/23/3314990 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4