Land At Waverley Brimscombe Hill Walls Quarry Brimscombe Gloucestershire

1. 1.The site lies within the Cotswolds National Landscape, where great weight is given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty. While the principle of a single dwelling may be acceptable in this location, the proposed engineering works required to facilitate the vehicular access and parking provision, by reason of the scale, height, projection and massing of the parking structure and associated retaining wall, would result in a visually dominant, over-engineered and intrusive feature within the landscape. This harm would be further exacerbated by the loss of two mature trees along the southwest boundary. The development would therefore cause significant harm to the rural character and appearance of the area and fail to conserve or enhance the natural beauty of the Cotswolds National Landscape, contrary to Policies ES7 and CP14(5,8,9) of the Local Plan, Minchinhampton Development Plan Policy MP Env 1, and paragraph 189 of the National Planning Policy Framework. As a result, the proposal conflicts with paragraph 11(d)(i) of the NPPF and the tilted balance is not engaged.
2. 2.The application fails to demonstrate that a safe and suitable access and manoeuvring area, without obstruction from the existing entrance arrangement, can be provided to serve the development. In the absence of this information, the Local Planning Authority cannot be satisfied that the development would not result in an unacceptable impact on highway safety. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies CP13 and ES3(5) of the Stroud District Local Plan and paragraph 115 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
3. 3.In the absence of either a bespoke mitigation strategy or a suitable planning obligation to secure a contribution to the council's mitigation scheme, the development fails to mitigate its impact on the Rodborough Common SAC and Cotswold Beechwoods SAC. As a result, the proposal is contrary to Policy ES6 of the Stroud District Local Plan 2015 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

From the council's decision notice.

Application type

Full Planning Application

Scale / size

Medium

Parish

Minchinhampton Parish Council

Date validated

20 January 2026

Consultation expiry

4 March 2026

Consultation end

4 March 2026

Target decision date

17 April 2026

Agent address

Anthony Webster Architectural Design The Design Hub Days Mill Old Market Nailsworth GL6 0DU

Statutory period

87 days

Documents

9