Housing estate Decision will be down to Planning Inspectorate
PLANS to build a housing estate on the edge of Cheltenham have been taken straight to appeal. Robert Hitchins Limited has taken the action over its plan to build 250 homes at Oakley Farm, off Harp Hill and close to Priors Road.
It means the controversial proposal, which sparked a campaign and led to 365 objections and only one submission of support, will no longer be decided by Cheltenham Borough Council. Instead, the decision will be made by the Planning Inspectorate.
Mike Holmes, the council’s interim head of planning, said: “At the April planning committee, the council was meeting to determine the planning application for Oakley Farm. Prior to the deadline for the publication of the committee papers, the applicants submitted an appeal based on the nondetermination of the application, which means that the Planning Inspectorate will now make the decision.”
Hitchins’ plan is to build the homes on land between Harp Hill in the south, Pillowell Close in the north and houses and the underground Hewlett’s Reservoir in the east. The site is close to the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Priors Road. The agricultural site covers 14.9 hectares, with the developer wanting to demolish the farm buildings to make way for houses and new vehicular access from Harp Hill.
Campaigners say it is a beautiful site that should be kept free of development for aesthetic reasons and for the benefit of wildlife. The Friends of Oakley Farm Pasture Slopes - AONB group, said: “It’s unclear how the actual appeal process will unfold until the council make their position on the application clear, and we expect this to be made available in the coming weeks. After many years of hard work involving residents, community groups, businesses and others, the Cheltenham Plan was finally approved in July of last year.
“The planning system is plan-led and the Cheltenham Plan sets out our vision for the town. It identifies those sites within the Principle Urban Area of the borough, which together with supporting infrastructure have already been agreed for major development by locally delegated borough councillors. The plan, which protects our natural and built heritage, has been adopted by us, is our chosen way forward and is the way we have agreed it should be done. Oakley Farm Pasture Slopes does not feature in the Cheltenham Plan. Why would it?” They added: “The Cheltenham Plan, together with the Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Joint Core Strategy, forms the statutory development plan for Cheltenham and the surrounding boroughs and recognises where housing development will be appropriately sited. This application is a speculative planning proposal in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.” A Robert Hitchins spokesperson said: “The planning application for homes at Oakley was submitted to Cheltenham Borough Council in June 2020 and remains to be determined. “The statutory target for determining applications of this nature is 16 weeks. The decision was therefore taken to lodge an appeal on the grounds of nondetermination.”