Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 8 January 2025 by G Robbie BA(Hons) BPl MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 10 March 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, West Northamptonshire NN11 3TB • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant outline planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr and Mrs R and S Jenkins and Hennings against the decision of West Northamptonshire Council. • The application Ref is 2024/1202/OUT. • The development proposed is erection of a detached dwelling following demolition of 2no. existing buildings. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The application was submitted in outline with matters of access to be considered at this stage. Matters of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale are ‘reserved’ for future consideration. 3. It is proposed that access to the appeal site would be taken from an existing point of access from High Street. Presently, that access point comprises a small, paved area across the roadside grass verge leading to a single metal gate in a gap in the hedge that leads into the site.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision The details of the proposed access show the re-use of this access point, with the paved verge crossing increased in width to accommodate a flared splay on either side. The plans also indicate the creation of an increased visibility splay on either side of the entrance which would necessitate the cutting back of the hedgerow on each side. 4. Included within the application submission was a block plan that showed the position of two existing buildings currently within the appeal site, together with an indication of the proposed footprint areas of a dwelling and detached garage block. As all matters other than access are reserved for future consideration I have treated these aspects of the block plan as being indicative. 5. Since the Council’s determination of the planning application, revised versions of the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) were published in December 2023 and December 2024. I am satisfied that, other than changes to paragraph numbering and paragraph structure between the current and previous versions of the Framework, the sections relevant to the matter before me have not materially changed. References to Framework paragraphs hereafter are to the current December 2024 version.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision I have determined the appeal accordingly and in so doing I am satisfied that neither main party would be disadvantaged. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision I have determined the appeal accordingly and in so doing I am satisfied that neither main party would be disadvantaged. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 Main Issues 6. The appellants are correct to state, in the opening section of their Statement of Case, that the reasons for refusal do not make reference to the locational sustainability or accessibility of the appeal site. The Council’s delegated officer report is also clear that, despite concerns expressed by the Local Highway Authority, locational sustainability and accessibility were not ‘considered to be a sufficient reason for refusal’. The appeal site’s location relative to the settlement boundaries of the ‘other village’ of Preston Capes is framed in the context of the main issues, set out below. 7. Thus, having regard to the above, the main issues are; • Whether or not the appeal site is an appropriate location for the proposed development, with particular regard to national and local planning policy; and • The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, with particular regard to the setting of the Preston Capes Conservation Area (the CA) and the setting of the grade II listed Swan Farmhouse. Reasons Location 8.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Policy R1 of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (JCS) sets out the Council’s spatial strategy for its rural areas by identifying a rural settlement hierarchy. Preston Capes is designated as an ‘other village’ by Policy RA3 of the former Daventry District Council’s ‘Settlements and Countryside Local Plan (Part 2) for Daventry District 2011-2029’ (LP2). Both policies support the broad principles of residential development in rural areas within ‘other villages’, but that support is reliant, in part at least, on development being ‘within the confines’ of a village. 9. Development beyond the village confines may also be acceptable under the provisions of these policies, and also LP2 Policy RA6, provided that certain criteria can be satisfied. All three policies stress the importance, amongst other things, of proposals that protect the form, character and setting of the village or other aspects of importance, including those identified within conservation area appraisals, and of the protection of the integrity of ‘other open land’ that makes an important contribution to the form, character and setting of that settlement. 10.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Preston Capes has a nucleated settlement pattern, the main body of which is located along High Street and on, and around, the junctions of High Street with Church Way and Old Forge Lane. A terrace of stone cottages on higher ground beside the road on the east side of High Street terminates towards the top of a rise where fields on both sides of the road mark the extent of the village’s contiguous built form. 11. The Council have referred to the criteria used for establishing the extent of village confines for ‘other villages’. The appeal site lies clearly separate from and, due to pasture between the site and the houses further north, beyond the periphery of, the main body of the village. The dense roadside hedges that line High Street beyond the main body of the village provide a sense of visual and contextual separation from the village, whilst the pasture behind provides actual separation. The buildings that are present within the site are typical of older 20th century, modest steel-framed https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 agricultural buildings and are, in part at least, skeletal in their appearance with only a limited visual presence within the site, and far less presence from the roadside. 12. The appeal site is therefore physically, visually and contextually set apart from the body of the village. The pasture fields opposite and adjacent to the site, which provide the separation from the village itself, are identified within the CA’s ‘Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan’ (CAAMP) as making positive and modest contributions, respectively, to the setting of the CA. Whilst I consider separately below, the matter of the effect of the proposed development on the setting of the CA and the adjacent listed building, the rural setting of the village derives, in part, from the hedge-lined lanes that approach it. 13. High Street from its junction with Charwelton Road provides just that sort of contribution to the setting of both the site and the village. Swan Farmhouse is seen in the context of the crossroads junction as an isolated and sporadically sited house in an open, undulating rural countryside setting.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision However, the dense roadside hedgerow running northwards from Swan Farmhouse and the appeal site entrance contribute to the form and character of the village, and to the relative separation of the site from it. 14. Despite all matters other than access being reserved, and thus the appearance and scale of the proposed dwelling and the landscaping thereof, being subject to further consideration should the principle of development be acceptable, it is nevertheless difficult to imagine how the development of the appeal site for residential purposes would not cause material harm to the form, character and setting of Preston Capes. The village is of nucleated form and focused around the village green and around the intersections of High Street, Church Way and Old Forge Lane. A dwelling within the appeal site would spatially cause harm to this focused form and erode the clear extent of existing built development and the gap between Swan Farmhouse and the main body of the village. 15.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Whilst the existing roadside hedge would provide a substantial degree of screening and reduce the direct visual impact of a dwelling here, particularly when viewed from High Street, it is inevitable that the presence of a dwelling here would nevertheless be felt, whether that be as a result of an enlarged and inevitably domesticated access point and the views of a residential use and paraphernalia through that opening, or of glimpsed views of it across neighbouring fields from Charwelton Road or the lane to the east of the village. As a consequence, the character of the appeal site and its relationship with the village would change, harmfully in my judgement, and this would not be sufficiently offset by the visual screening offered by the existing roadside hedges. 16. Whilst I accept that the proposed dwelling and detached garage would replace two existing buildings within the site, neither of which are particularly visually attractive, those buildings are nevertheless not atypical of rural buildings with an agricultural purpose and function. Whilst of a relatively modern 20th century construction, they are nevertheless consistent with, and part of, the site’s, and the village’s, rural countryside setting.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision They may not contribute particularly positively to the landscape setting of Preston Capes, but a dwelling in this location would be incongruous in comparison, and would erode the form, character and setting of the village for reasons I have set out. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision They may not contribute particularly positively to the landscape setting of Preston Capes, but a dwelling in this location would be incongruous in comparison, and would erode the form, character and setting of the village for reasons I have set out. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 17. For the reasons set out therefore, the appeal site is an inappropriate location for residential development, having particular regard to the effect of development on the character, setting and form of Preston Capes. As such, the appeal scheme fails to accord with the approach set out by JCS Policy R1 and LP2 Policies RA3 (specifically RA3(A), (C)(iii) and (C)(iv), RA6 and SP1(G) and it has not been demonstrated that development outside the confines of the village would meet an identified local need for housing that could not otherwise be met within those confines as required by LP2 Policy RA3(B)(i). Character and appearance 18. The appeal site lies outside the Preston Capes Conservation Area (the CA), but the site shares its roadside frontage and southern boundaries with the CA’s boundary. The roadside hedgerow along the frontage is typical of the surrounding rural character in which the village is located, and hedgerows are identified in the CA’s Appraisal and Management Plan (CAAMP) as being features that generally make a positive contribution to the CA.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision The hedge across the site’s frontage, and the hedge on the opposite side of this stretch of High Street are identified as ‘important hedges’ in the CAAMP. 19. The CAAMP also identifies the two pasture fields to the north and east of the appeal site as making a moderate contribution to the setting of the CA by virtue of the glimpsed views to, and from, the CA of the undulating rural character of the village, its setting and its surroundings. 20. The appeal scheme would not directly impinge upon the pasture to the north of the site as the site’s extent appears to broadly follow an existing fence line. However, the site’s eastern boundary appears to extend a considerable distance beyond an existing timber post-and-rail fence with the creation on an extended ‘sub-division boundary’ indicated on a block plan. Whilst all matters other than access are reserved, and thus layout remains indicative at this stage, the application site boundaries are set at this stage. 21.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Whereas the existing groupings of buildings are well contained within the landscape and existing landscape features such as hedgerows and fence lines, or are inward looking in the manner of the adjacent brick-built barn courtyard at Swan Farm, the appeal scheme would spill over into surrounding pasture. The CAAMP identifies a range of characteristics from which the CA derives its special interest. The rural character of the settlement and its setting are recurring themes, as has been the retention of the village’s historic street pattern, layout and built form. The role and significance of the open space around the village contributes significantly to its rural character and setting, including those pasture fields to the north and east of the site, and that on the opposite side of High Street. 22. Although the hedgerow and vegetation along the site’s High Street frontage would continue to offer a verdant character to the CA and its approach along High Street, also limiting views of a proposed dwelling to glimpses through the site entrance and the hedge itself, the rear of the site is clearly visible from Charwelton Road and the narrow lane to the southeast and east of the site.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision From both roads, views of the site are available across the intervening fields and whilst the open-sided pole barns are clearly visible from these areas they are in keeping with the bucolic rural setting of the village. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision From both roads, views of the site are available across the intervening fields and whilst the open-sided pole barns are clearly visible from these areas they are in keeping with the bucolic rural setting of the village. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 23. A residential property here would, almost inevitably, have a significant influence over the character of this area, the views of it and of the setting of the CA. I accept that matters of layout, scale and appearance are all reserved for future consideration and thus the extent to which a new dwelling would impinge upon and erode the character of this area remains uncertain. I note too, that, indicatively at least, the appellants have sought to demonstrate that a new dwelling and a detached garage could have smaller footprint areas than the existing agricultural buildings. That may be so, and whilst accepting that the site itself is not identified as making a contribution to the CA and its setting, residential development of the site would erode the qualities and characteristics of special interest to the CA and its rural, countryside setting. 24. It has not been demonstrated therefore that the proposed development would not have a harmful effect on the character or appearance of the surrounding area and, as a consequence, would cause harm to the character and setting of the CA.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision I appreciate the appellants’ argument that the appeal site could have been included within the CA if it had been felt to be of value or to contribute positively to it, or indeed in the areas of open land that make positive contributions thereto. It does not follow, however, that having been excluded from the CA and important open areas within the CAAMP it otherwise has no value as contributing to the character or appearance of the CA. In any event, the appeal site extends into an area of open space that makes a modest contribution to the character and setting of the CA, and would be factor, a significant factor from certain points, in views towards and from within the CA. 25. Swan Farmhouse is a grade II listed building and is located at the southern extent of the CA in a prominent position on the crossroads junction of Charwelton Road and High Street. A range of buildings and a substantial brick wall create a courtyard immediately to the north of the farmhouse, and is somewhat reminiscent of an old farmyard, stables and livestock pens. Swan Farmhouse was, however, formerly the Swan Public House and so these buildings may also have had a role in the former use of the building and site.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision It remains clearly separated and distinguishable from the main body of the village however and its convenient and easy access to the main road of Charwelton Road perhaps hints at its previous use. 26. As such, part of this building’s interest derives from its location and setting relative to the main body of the village. As part of the CA’s interest also derives from its retention of its historic street patter, the development of the appeal site, which would erode the degree of separation between the site and Swan Farmhouse on the one hand, and the main body of the village on the other, would fail to preserve or enhance the setting of the listed building, or the setting of the CA. As such, harm would arise to the setting of both the listed building and the CA, albeit that the harm would be less than substantial. 27. The appellants have not explicitly argued wider public benefits that would arise from the appeal scheme. However, it has been argued that the residential development of this site would enhance the appearance of the site given the appearance of the existing buildings.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision I do not share this concern about the visual appearance of the site, nor has it been demonstrated that a residential form of development could be accommodated within the site without causing harm to the interests that I have noted above. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 5

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision I do not share this concern about the visual appearance of the site, nor has it been demonstrated that a residential form of development could be accommodated within the site without causing harm to the interests that I have noted above. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 5

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W2845/W/24/3347471 28. The proposal would also provide an additional dwelling. Although the Council have upwardly revised their current 5-year housing land supply position during the course of the application and appeal, there is no dispute that a supply in excess of 5 years exists. However, a 5-year housing supply is not a limit to further development but, as the proposal is for a single dwelling, any benefits of an additional dwelling to either that supply position, or to sustaining services and facilities within the borough, is very limited. This is not a public benefit to which I give any significant weight. 29. Thus, for the reasons set out, the appeal scheme fails to accord with the aims and provisions of JCS Policies BN5, S10(i) and H1(a) and (b) and LP2 Policy ENV7 and ENV10(A)(i). Other Matters 30. The Council have raised no objection to the matter of detail before me at the outline stage; that of access. I have not been presented with any further reason or evidence that would lead me to reach a different conclusion in this respect. However, the absence of harm in this respect does not overcome the harm that I have identified above. 31.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision It is also noted that the Council have not sought to argue that the appeal site’s location beyond the confines of Preston Capes renders it remote, isolated or unacceptably located in terms of accessibility by means of transport other than the private car, and in terms of access to services and facilities. The Council is able to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply position, albeit that the appellants suggest, without robust or compelling evidence, that the over-supply is not significant and the overall supply position is marginal. I agree that the existence of a 5-year housing supply does not amount to a ceiling or cap, and I have noted the examples of appeal decisions supplied by the appellants regarding cases in different local authority areas. I do not have any further details of those examples before me and so I give them very limited weight, whilst matters relating to the Council’s housing supply position have not been determinative either way. 32.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — Appeal Decision These matters do not alter my conclusions regarding the locational suitability of the site in terms of the effect of the type of development on the rural character and setting of the site and its surroundings or that of Preston Capes, or of the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area and the setting of the CA and adjacent listed building. Conclusion 33. For the reasons set out, and having considered all other matters raised, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Swan Farm, High Street, Preston Capes, DAVENTRY, NN11 3TB — West Northamptonshire — G Robbie INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 6