Land at OS 0101 4544 Canada Bank Charlton

1. 1.The application site lies outside of a defined development boundary and is therefore located within the open countryside, where development is strictly controlled. Charlton is identified within Annexe B to Policy SWDPR03 as a Category 4 village, where proposals must be assessed having regard to their scale and type, landscape character, locational sustainability and infrastructure capacity. In this instance, the site is not considered to represent an appropriate or sustainable location for residential development. Whilst the site lies relatively close to the limited facilities within Charlton, the range of services and facilities within the settlement is modest, there is no footpath or street lighting along Canada Bank, and future occupiers would be heavily reliant on the private car in order to access day- to-day services, employment opportunities and higher-order facilities in larger settlements and towns. The proposal therefore represents an inappropriate form of residential development in the open countryside, contrary to Policy SWDPR01, SWDPR03 and SWDPR06 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review and the relevant aims and objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework.
2. 2.The application proposes up to 9 dwellings on a heavily vegetated, undeveloped parcel of land on the rural edge of Charlton which currently reads as part of the countryside edge of the village rather than as part of its established built form. By reason of the site’s undeveloped character, its clear visual and functional relationship with the wider countryside, and its contribution to the landscape setting of the settlement, the proposed residential use of the land, and the amount of development proposed, would result in the harmful domestication and urbanisation of the site and an uncharacteristic encroachment of built form into the countryside. The proposal would fail to respond appropriately to the character and quality of the local area, would fail to safeguard the rural edge and landscape setting of Charlton, and would materially harm the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies SWDPR03, SWDPR16, SWDPR28 and SWDPR34 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review and the relevant aims and objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Application type

Permission in Principle

Scale / size

Small

Parish

Charlton

Date validated

6 March 2026

Consultation expiry

31 March 2026

Consultation start

9 March 2026

Consultation end

31 March 2026

Agent address

Greenaway Planning Ltd Po Box 937 Worcester WR4 4GS

Documents

79