Land At (Os 8796 6179) Chawson Lane Droitwich Spa

1. 1.The application site lies outside of any defined development boundary within the open countryside, where development is strictly controlled under Policy SWDPR03 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review. The Council can currently demonstrate a 5 year supply of deliverable housing site with 5% buffer. Consequently, the Council’s policies for the supply of housing are considered to be up-to-date and the ‘tilted balance’ is not engaged as per paragraph 11(d) of the Framework. The proposal does not fall within any of the exceptions set out under Policy SWDPR 03 and the principle of a new market dwelling in this location is therefore not supported by the Development Plan. Overall it would not accord with the planned sustainable Spatial Development Strategy set out in Development Plan policy SWDPR03 and the sustainability objectives of SWDPR01.
2. 2.The proposed development fails to demonstrate that it takes into account the latest Worcestershire Landscape Character Assessment and its guidelines and would be appropriate to, and integrate with, the character of the landscape setting in conflict with South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policy SWDPR34 and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
3. 3.The proposed development fails to demonstrate that it would be supported by a vision-led sustainable transport strategy that reduces the need to travel, enables smarter choices and would ensure future residents benefit from a genuine choice of sustainable transport modes and fails to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that safe and suitable access can be achieved for all users and that the development proposals would not result in unacceptable highway safety impacts, in conflict with South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policies SWDPR01 and SWDPR06 and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
4. 4.The proposed development would fail to deliver a high quality design which would fail to integrate effectively with its surroundings, reinforce a sense of place and local distinctiveness, and conserve and enhance cultural and heritage assets and their settings in conflict with South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policies SWDPR03 (E), SWDPR05, SWDPR07 (E) and SWDPR28 and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
5. 5.The proposed development will cause harm to the setting/character of the Droitwich Canal Conservation Area and the setting of a number of listed buildings. In this case the level of harm, although serious, is considered to be less than substantial. However, it is not considered that any public benefits of the proposed development would outweigh the harm to the significance of the heritage assets identified. In addition, the application is not supported by a geophysical survey. As such the proposed development conflicts with South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policies SWDPR09 and SWDPR33 and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
6. 6.The application is being supported by insufficient ecological survey data, notably in relation to Breeding Birds. The proposal thus conflicts with South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policy SWDPR29 and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
7. 7.The development would result in the loss of Best and Most Versatile Agricultural land and fails to demonstrate that no suitable alternative site exists and that the benefit of the proposal outweighs the harm in conflict with the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policy SWDPR16H and guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.
8. 8.In the absence of a Section 106 legal agreement, no secure arrangements are in place to secure the provision of and arrangements for a financial contribution towards: - affordable housing provision - Serviced Self or Custom Build Plots - public open space - formal sports and leisure - primary care - transport and infrastructure - education As such, the proposed development does not meet the objectives of sustainable development and cannot be delivered with acceptable impacts on the community and the environment. Therefore the application is contrary to adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan Review Policies SWDPR03, SWDPR06, SWDPR07, SWDPR10, SWDPR11, SWDPR17, SWDPR19, SWDPR29 and SWDPR30 SWDPR49, and SWDPR50 along with the Council's adopted Affordable Housing SPG, as well as guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Application type

Outline Application

Scale / size

Large

Number of dwellings

180

Parish

Salwarpe

Date validated

24 February 2026

Consultation expiry

30 March 2026

Consultation start

24 February 2026

Consultation end

30 March 2026

Agent address

Unit 6 De Salis Court Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate Droitwich Spa WR9 0QE

Advertisement expiry

19 March 2026

Documents

291