Land At 24 Litlington Road Steeple Morden Cambridgeshire SG8 0LY

1. 1.The proposal is for outline permission for the erection of a dwelling within the Morden Conservation Area. Detailed information such as scale, elevations and external appearance etc is needed to assess the impact of a development on the special architectural or historic interest of the area and this has not been submitted. Development Affecting Conservation Areas SPD (Adopted January 2009), paragraph 2.23 states that outline applications will be refused for development within conservation areas, where the information submitted is not sufficient to determine whether or not the proposal would preserve or enhance the conservation area. The erection of a new dwelling on the site would encroach into the space around the listed building and heavily erode its setting, as well as subdividing the plot. This proposal would entail the removal of trees from the boundary to create a new access which would have a negative impact on the character of the area. The proposal would fail to preserve the character of the Morden Conservation Area and would harm the setting of the Grade II listed building at Cheney Willows. The proposal does not comply with Policy NH/14 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 and would lead to moderate less than substantial harm to the designated heritage asset and paragraph 215 of the NPPF would apply. In addition, the proposal does not accord with Policy H/16 (b) i, as there would be significant harm to the character of the local area and Policy H/16 (b) vi, as there would be harm to the character of the conservation area. It does not accord with Policy HQ/1 1 (a), as the proposal would not preserve the character of the local rural area and HQ/1 1 (b) as the proposal would not conserve or enhance important natural and historic assets and their setting. The proposal is considered to amount to less than substantial harm to the identified heritage asset and this is not outweighed by the limited public benefit of one Self/Custom Build dwelling. The proposal is therefore contrary to the provisions of the Planning (LBCA) Act 1990, the NPPF (2024) Paragraphs 212 and 215 and Policies NH/14, HQ/1 and H/16 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018.
2. 2.The location of the proposed dwelling is poorly related to and remote from the existing village and would be alien and incongruous to the area and would adversely impact the rural and open character of the surrounding countryside by introducing an additional residential dwelling and associated infrastructure to the site, urbanising the setting of the village and harming the character of the area. Development is considered unacceptable as it would result in harmful encroachment of built development into the countryside and would be unsustainable, as it will generate a disproportionate number of additional journeys outside the village. The need to provide a Self/Custom Build dwelling does not outweigh the harm to the countryside, landscape character or to the conservation area and the setting of the listed building. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies S/7, HQ/1, NH/2, NH/14 and TI/2 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018.
3. 3.While tree-related information has been submitted, it does not comply with the requirements of BS5837:2012 (Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction Recommendations). This standard sets out the accepted methodology for surveying, categorising, and assessing trees in relation to development proposals. The submitted material lacks the level of detail, format, and technical accuracy necessary to allow the arboricultural impacts of the development to be properly understood or assessed. In the absence of a BS5837:2012 compliant tree survey, the proposal does not accord with Policy H/16 (b) vi and vii, of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 as there would be harm to the local area taking account of impacts on the character of the conservation area and impacts on biodiversity and important trees. Policy HQ/1 1 (a), as the proposal would not preserve the character of the local rural area and HQ/1 1 (b) as the proposal would not conserve or enhance important natural assets and their setting.

From the council's decision notice.

Postcode

SG8 0LY

Application type

Outline Application

Scale / size

Small

Parish

Steeple Morden CP

District

South Cambridgeshire District Council

Date validated

8 January 2026

Consultation expiry

14 January 2026

Last date for comments

26 March 2026

Target decision date

5 March 2026

Agent

BN Designs

Agent address

19 Common Lane Sawston CB22 3HW

Statutory period

56 days

Last advertised

14 January 2026

Site notice start

20 January 2026

Documents

33