Developers win appeal to build 120 village homes

A field, with a tree to the left and hedgerow in front off it and then many trees in the background into open countryside, to the east of Ploughley Road in Ambrosden, taken from the road by Google Image source, Google
Image caption,

The homes can now be built on land to the east of Ploughley Road in Ambrosden

  • Published

Plans to build 120 homes on the edge of a village can go ahead after the developers successfully appealed against a council decision to reject the proposal.

Developers, including Bellway Homes, saw their project for land to the east of Ploughley Road in Ambrosden, Oxfordshire, turned down by Cherwell District Council in July 2023.

The authority said the development would have a "poor and incongruous relationship with the existing settlement" and "appear prominent in the open countryside".

But the Planning Inspectorate disagreed, external and concluded the homes would be "close and well located to the village facilities".

Planning inspector John Longmuir said the development, also backed by developer Archstone Ambrosden, "would be a benefit in terms of the economy and social needs".

As part of a council study in 2022, the authority found about 4,100 people across Cherwell were living in "unsuitable housing".

The inspector said 42 homes - equivalent of 35% of the development - would be a "significant help towards the local need".

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