Permission Granted for Rural Exception Site in Cotswold AONB

Tyler Parkes is delighted to report that planning permission has been granted for the development of a rural exception site on behalf of our client, Piper Homes The proposal involves the erection of a mixture of open market and affordable housing on agricultural land in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on the edge of the village of Hillesley.

The case was extremely complicated because of the site’s location in the AONB outside the village boundaries. In such situations, housing can be acceptable in exceptional circumstances and in this case, an element of open market housing was essential to cross-subsidise the provision of the 9 affordable units.

The village of Hillesley had an identified affordable housing need, demonstrated through a Housing Needs Survey. Tyler Parkes were involved early in the process, including a consultation event to inform the draft proposals in 2015 and seek views. The scheme was proposed to specifically meet that identified local affordable housing need. Our design of the site and detailing of the housing was deliberately unconventional and intended to appear as though it had evolved organically - inspired by the existing built form of the village.

Throughout the progression of the approved planning application, our client liaised with the Parish Council and the local housing association, and we worked closely with Stroud District Council and Gloucestershire County Council to overcome any potential concerns. Our proposals were accompanied by a raft of supporting documents, including a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, a Viability report, a Drainage report and an Ecological assessment. The proposal, for 9 affordable housing units and 8 open market dwellings also involves the diversion of a public footpath and the provision of a public car park for use by the village. The planning permission was accompanied by a legal agreement.

We are very pleased to have received this permission for Piper Homes. The development will go a significant way towards meeting local affordable housing need in this part of the Cotswolds which is great news and a fantastic result.