Land at OS 0058 4545 The Strand Charlton

1. 1.The application site lies outside of any defined development boundary and is therefore located within the open countryside, where development is strictly controlled under Policy SWDPR03 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review. Charlton is identified as a Category 4 village within the Settlement Hierarchy, where proposals must be assessed having regard to their scale and type, landscape character, locational sustainability and infrastructure capacity. In this case, the site is not considered to represent an appropriate or sustainable location for up to 9 dwellings, having regard to the limited range of services and facilities within Charlton and the consequent reliance of future occupiers on travel by private motor vehicle in order to access day-to-day services, facilities and employment opportunities. The development would therefore give rise to a conflict with policies SWDPR 01, SWDPR 03 and SWDPR 06 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review together with the aims of Section 9 ('Promoting sustainable transport') of the National Planning Policy Framework.
2. 2.The application site comprises an open field on the southern edge of The Strand which is agricultural in character and forms part of the undeveloped rural edge of Charlton. This part of the village is characterised by a predominantly linear pattern of frontage development along The Strand, beyond which the land quickly gives way to open countryside. The site also falls within the Principal Village Farmlands landscape type, where the open, farmed landscape and the relationship between the settlement and surrounding agricultural land are important defining characteristics. By reason of the amount of development proposed, the introduction of up to 9 dwellings would represent an uncharacteristic intensification of built form in this edge-of-settlement location, resulting in the permanent domestication of undeveloped land and harmful erosion of the rural character, landscape setting and countryside edge of the settlement. The proposal would therefore fail to respond appropriately to the character of the site and its surroundings, contrary to Policies SWDPR03, 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 , Cropthorne

Date validated

11 March 2026

Consultation expiry

31 March 2026

Consultation start

11 March 2026

Consultation end

31 March 2026

Agent address

PO Box937 Worcester WR4 4GS

Documents

61