Tewkesbury planning permission for 4 new homes

SF Planning is pleased to announce that it has secured planning permission for four self-build homes on a greenfield site at Shuthonger in Tewkesbury Borough.  Shuthonger is a small settlement without a development boundary on the A38 near Twyning,  approximately 2 miles to the north of the market town of Tewkesbury itself.

Despite an officer recommendation to refuse, the applicant and planning consultants SF Planning presented a comprehensive and well researched case to the Members of the Planning Committee who took the progressive decision to approve the planning proposal.  A resolution was passed to grant planning permission at the end of August 2017 by the Planning Committee, but it was subject to a legal agreement to secure the homes as self-build.  The legal agreement was completed at the end of 2017 which meant the council was able to issue the permission.

Ground breaking planning permission

The planning permission is ground breaking for the Borough as it is the first scheme submitted and approved on the basis of the legal duty placed on all local planning authorities to meet the need for self-build homes set out on its Self-Build Register.  This was despite conflict with the adopted Development Plan as it relates to housing in general.  There are no policies in the adopted local plan to cater for the identified need, and what was the emerging policy in the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) at the time of the resolution (but since Adopted) was formulated when the evidence of need was small.

Neither the existing adopted local plan, nor the JCS is capable of catering for the identified need on the Register.  At the time of the resolution there were 28 individuals on the self-build register, with the majority seeking rural or edge of village locations.

Evidence was submitted with the application that shows the provision of this type of housing (to meet an identified social need) is a significant material consideration that would enable a positive decision to be made despite conflict with the adopted Development Plan, particularly in view of the identified lack of supply.

It is the intention that this scheme will become an exemplar of this type of housing delivery, and will provide an excellent opportunity to provide a prominent ‘advert’ for this type of housing on the main northern approach to Tewkesbury Borough, and the town of Tewkesbury itself.

Having owned this agricultural site for over 50 years we required a scheme that would be different and could meet a need not previously catered for.  Due to our previous experience on another successful application we didn’t hesitate to contact SF Planning who, after considering various options, produced an innovative scheme for self-build dwellings.  We fully supported this idea and were immediately provided with the relevant experts who, under the guidance of SF Planning, gave the advice and support necessary to bring this “ Team Effort “ to a successful conclusion.  A most satisfactory outcome to a ground-breaking application!

Philip Handy   ( Agent )
John Burston  ( Owner )

For further information on this project please contact Mark Godson at our Gloucester office on 01452 527997.

Notes

1. Self-build housing is usually sold as serviced or non-serviced plots to enable future owners to submit their own individual planning applications in due course. The mechanism for this is set out in the completed legal agreement.
2. In March 2015 the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 was enacted to, “place a duty on certain public authorities to keep a register of individuals and associations of individuals who wish to acquire serviced plots of land to bring forward self-build and custom housebuilding projects and to place a duty on certain public authorities to have regard to those registers in carrying out planning and other functions”. This accorded with the Government’s 2015 manifesto commitment to, “at least double the number of custom and self-build homes by 2020” as part of its agenda to increase housing supply and tackle the housing crisis. Tewkesbury Borough’s self-build register can be found here.
3. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 inserted a duty on local planning authorities to, “give suitable development permission in respect of enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority’s area arising in each base period”. The Act confirms that the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding arising in an authority’s area is the demand as evidenced by the number of entries added to the register kept by the authority.
4. At the time of writing there are currently 29 individuals on the Tewkesbury self-build register.
5. The indicative plans submitted with the outline planning application were prepared by Tyack Architects of Moreton in Marsh.