Land at Arms Gardens, Sutton Benger

1. 1.The application site lies outside the defined Limits of Development for Sutton Benger and is therefore located within the open countryside. The principle of residential development in this location is contrary to the spatial strategy of the development plan, which directs new housing to defined settlements where services and facilities are accessible. By reason of its location, future occupiers would be highly reliant on the private car to access day-to-day services, employment, education and facilities, resulting in an unsustainable form of development in principle. This harm relates to the suitability of the site’s location and cannot be addressed through the submission of a subsequent application for Technical Details Consent. The proposal therefore conflicts with Core Policies CP1 (Settlement Strategy), CP2 (Delivery Strategy), CP10 (Chippenham Community Area), CP60 (Sustainable Transport) and CP61 (Transport and Development) of the adopted Wiltshire Core Strategy (2015), and with the objectives of Section 9 of the National Planning Policy Framework, in particular paragraphs 109–111.
2. 2.The proposed development would result in the loss of open farmland which historically and positively contributes to the setting and significance of the Grade II listed buildings forming the Arms Farm complex. As a result, the proposal would cause less than substantial harm to the significance of these designated heritage assets through harm within their setting. As required by paragraph 215 of the National Planning Policy Framework, the proposed public benefit of providing up to nine dwellings is limited in scale and does not amount to the clear and convincing public benefits required to outweigh the identified heritage harm. The proposal therefore conflicts with Core Policies CP57 (Ensuring High Quality Design and Place Shaping) and CP58 (Ensuring the Conservation of the Historic Environment) of the adopted Wiltshire Core Strategy (2015), and the objectives of Section 16 of the National Planning Policy Framework, in particular paragraphs 210 and 212, and to Section 66(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 which requires great weight to be given to the desirability of preserving the listed buildings and their setting.
3. 3.The proposed development would result in the loss of important views from the conservation area out to the surrounding countryside, in particular through the Arms Farm complex towards the open farmland with which it is historically connected. These views form part of the wider setting of the conservation area and contribute to its character and appearance. In accordance with Section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, special attention must be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of conservation areas. The proposal would fail to preserve this character and appearance and would result in harm to the conservation area, which attracts significant weight in the planning balance. The proposed public benefit of providing up to nine dwellings is limited in scale and does not outweigh the identified harm to the conservation area. The proposal therefore conflicts with Core Policies CP57 (Ensuring High Quality Design and Place Shaping) and CP58 (Ensuring the Conservation of the Historic Environment) of the adopted Wiltshire Core Strategy (2015), and with the objectives of Section 16 of the National Planning Policy Framework, in particular paragraphs 210 and 212.

From the council's decision notice.

Application type

Permission in Principle

Scale / size

Medium

Parish

Sutton Benger CP

Date validated

28 October 2025

Consultation expiry

18 November 2025

Consultation end

18 November 2025

Target decision date

23 January 2026

Statutory period

87 days

Documents

10