Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 1 July 2025 by Chris Baxter BA (Hons) DipTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 25 July 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/P2935/W/25/3360273 Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn NE66 3QF • 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 Guy Munden of The Northumberland Estates against the decision of Northumberland County Council. • The application Ref is 18/04528/OUT. • The development proposed is described as “outline planning application for the development of approximately 60 dwellings including access, open space, SuDS and associated infrastructure and a car park and bus terminal/stop for Alnmouth Station with all matters reserved.” Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. Outline planning permission is sought with all matters reserved. I have determined the appeal on this basis. 3. In the banner heading above, the address of the site has been taken from the appeal form. 4. Following the submission of a unilateral undertaking legal agreement, the Council have confirmed that the third reason for refusal has been addressed.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision I have assessed the appeal on this basis. Main Issues 5. The main issues are whether the proposal would affect the strategic delivery of housing; the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape, including protected green space; and whether there is a need for a bus turning area and car parking. Reasons Housing delivery 6. The appeal site is situated to the north of the settlement of Hipsburn. Hipsburn along with Lesbury, Bilton and Alnmouth form a cluster settlement which is described as a Service Village in Policy STP 1 of the Northumberland Local Plan (NLP). As the appeal site is located outside the settlement boundaries of this cluster settlement, it is therefore within the open countryside. Part (g) of Policy STP 1 states that development, for residential, in the open countryside will be supported if it accords with Policies HOU 7 or HOU 8 of the NLP. Policy HOU 7 relates to exception sites which I will turn to below. Policy HOU 8 relates to isolated residential development in the open countryside, and is not applicable in https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P2935/W/25/3360273 this case as the proposed development would not be isolated being directly adjacent to existing housing. 7. Policy HOU 7 of the NLP allows the development of small rural exception sites that would not normally be used for housing which are adjacent to an existing settlement. The Council confirms that the development would meet a local need for affordable housing. The affordable housing would be secured in perpetuity, and the scheme would also be well related to local services and facilities. Section 4 of Policy HOU 7 states that the inclusion of a proportion of market housing within a rural exception site housing scheme will only be supported where the development is predominantly for affordable housing, the market housing element is for permanent occupation as a principal residence only and that the market housing helps to facilitate the delivery of the affordable provision. 8. The development proposes 25% of the properties to be affordable, which is the requirement set out in Policy HOU 6 of the NLP. The scheme therefore would not be predominantly affordable housing with only 15 of the 60 units being affordable homes. The remaining 45 properties would be market housing.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision A Viability Appraisal March 2019 (VA) has been submitted which concludes that 60 houses is the minimum number required in order to enable the delivery of the wider site, including car parking for the railway station, as well as ensuring a profit for the developer. The reliability of the VA is questioned given its age and that the appraisal details that the proposed scheme would provide 20% affordable housing, which differs to the 25% figure before me which is also detailed in the submitted unilateral undertaking. From the evidence before me, I am not satisfied that the requirement of 45 market housing units is required in order to facilitate the delivery of the affordable housing. The proposal would therefore not meet the definition of a rural exception site. 9. The proposed development would be located in the open countryside, outside any defined settlement boundaries. Insufficient evidence has been provided to justify the proposed development being in this location. The proposed scheme therefore would be harmful to the strategic delivery of housing in Northumberland.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision The proposal would not accord with Policies STP1 and HOU 7 of the NLP and Policies 1 and 4 of the Lesbury Neighbourhood Plan (LNP) which seeks to deliver sustainable development which enhances the vitality of communities, support economic growth and conserve environmental assets. Character and appearance 10. The area surrounding the appeal site is characterised predominantly by residential properties at the edge of built development with open countryside beyond. The built form of the settlement to the south of the site is mixed including rows of properties as well as cul-de-sac type developments. The appeal site is an agricultural field with undulating topography and it sits within the National Landscape Character Area LCA 1: Northumberland Coastal Plain, as well as being defined in the Northumberland Landscape Character Assessment as ‘Coastal Incised Valley, 2a Lower Aln’. The site is also located approximately 0.2 kilometres from the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 11.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision The proposal would result in the loss of open greenfield land and the submitted Landscape and Visual Appraisal (LVA) accepts that there would be significant visual effects from views within close proximity to the site, including the nearby https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision The proposal would result in the loss of open greenfield land and the submitted Landscape and Visual Appraisal (LVA) accepts that there would be significant visual effects from views within close proximity to the site, including the nearby https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P2935/W/25/3360273 Public Right of Way and adjacent residential properties. Given the topography of the site and surrounding landscape, as well as the location of the proposed properties within the site, the proposal would not be highly visible from the wider surrounding area. The scheme would introduce landscape proposals including strengthening boundary vegetation, introducing further landscape which would include a landscape buffer by the proposed parking area. 12. Whilst the proposal would inevitably be visible from closer views, the proposed built development would not be out of keeping with the built form of the settlement, and the scheme would not be highly visible from longer views. The proposal would not have a harmful effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area or the surrounding landscape including the AONB. 13. Policy 6 of the LNP designates areas of Local Green Space stating that these parcels of land should be protected. The proposed development includes works to the highway that would encroach onto Local Green Space LGS6 and therefore in strict accordance with Policy 6, the development would conflict with this Policy.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Nevertheless, the proposed highway works would only impinged on a small section of the designated Local Green Space and the majority of the area would be retained and protected. Bus turning area and car parking 14. The proposed development would include provisions for a car park to accommodate around 80 spaces that would support the nearby railway station. Whilst there is minimal compelling evidence that supports the need for 80 parking spaces, submitted correspondence does indicate that there can be parking problems associated with the railway station at times. There also appears to be some support for additional parking provision for the railway station including from Network Rail and LNER. 15. The development proposes a road layout that would provide a bus turning area. There is a lack of substantial evidence indicating there is a specific need for a bus turning area in this location, however, submitted correspondence suggests that improved bus service facilities near the railway station would be beneficial. 16.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Policy 10 of the LNP states that an extension to existing car parks at Alnmouth Railway Station and the creation of additional parking spaces, and the introduction of measures to improve highway safety at the access and in the vicinity of the railway station, would be supported. The introduction of a road layout that provides a bus turning area as well as additional parking spaces, as proposed in the scheme, would therefore not fundamentally conflict with Policy 10 of the LNP. Other Matters 17. Future residents of the proposed development would contribute towards supporting the provision and retention of rural services and facilities in the locality, and the introduction of housing would align with the Governments agenda to boost the supply of housing. Whilst the appellant contends that it is likely that the housing land supply figure of the Council will reduce, there is no evidence before me which indicates that the Council does not have a healthy housing land supply figure at present. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/P2935/W/25/3360273 18. The appellant has submitted that there are no available suitable sites for housing that are not located within the countryside and also indicated that other developments have been approved that sit outside settlements. Insufficient information has been provided on these other schemes therefore I am unable to assess whether the proposed development in this appeal is directly comparable. 19. The Northumberland Coast National Landscape (NCNL) ‘Visitor Access and Travel Management Strategy’ has been brought to my attention with this strategy seeking to promote sustainable travel and tourism. To some extent, the proposed parking provision and bus turning area associated with the railway station would contribute to this strategy. 20. The unilateral undertaking would deliver contributions towards coastal mitigation, education and health facilities, and open space areas. These contributions are required as the proposal would increase the population in this area and subsequently put further pressure on local services that would be alleviated somewhat by the contributions.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Appeal Decision The unilateral undertaking also secures the proposed affordable housing provision and restricts occupancy for the open market dwellings. 21. The appellant indicates that the proposal would have no harm on heritage assets and that the majority of the consultees have not raised any objections including on technical planning matters such as ecology and flood risk. Conclusion 22. I have found that the proposal would not have an adverse effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape or Local Green Space, and it would support Alnmouth Railway Station in terms of bus provision and parking facilities. However, these matters and the benefits described above would not outweigh the significant harm I have identified regarding the effect on the strategic delivery of housing in Northumberland. 23. The proposal would conflict with the development plan as a whole and there are no other considerations, including the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework, which outweighs this finding. 24. For the reasons given above, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Land North Of Alnmouth Station, Hipsburn, NE66 3QF — Northumberland County Council — Chris Baxter INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4