Case Study: Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay is a village situated in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire.
The Vale of White Horse District Council resolved to grant planning permission for a site owned by O&H Land just outside of the village of Sutton Courtenay (April 2016).
The application was for 93 homes on the edge of the village opposite an established village expansion site. At the time the council could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and the site was deemed to be sustainable.
Sutton Courtenay is a village situated in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire.
The Vale of White Horse District Council resolved to grant planning permission for a site owned by O&H Land just outside of the village of Sutton Courtenay (April 2016).
The application was for 93 homes on the edge of the village opposite an established village expansion site. At the time the council could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and the site was deemed to be sustainable.
In August 2019 the application was taken back to committee with a recommendation for refusal based on Oxfordshire County Council’s objection. In the intervening years, the Oxfordshire Authorities had also signed a growth deal with the Government (March 2018) giving them leave to only demonstrate a 3-year housing land supply rather than the national target of 5 years.
The application was refused, and O&H Land made the decision to challenge this decision at appeal.
Varsity Town Planning acted for O&H advancing the housing case with Stantec advancing the transport case. Tim Corner QC acted for O&H.
The appeal was heard by inquiry (October 2020) and was one of the first to give evidence online as the country was in lockdown. We argued that the conditions for the Oxfordshire growth deal had not been met and on that basis, they should be targeting a five-year housing land supply which they could not demonstrate.
The planning inspector concluded that Council had made reasonable efforts to comply with the terms of the growth deal and would not decide against the government.
The appeal was dismissed in November 2020.
The site remains a sustainable location for growth and is now being promoted through the joint local plan for Vale of White Horse and Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district Council.
In March 2021 the housing minister announced that the terms of the growth deal had not been met and that the Oxfordshire Authorities would have to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
Work on the new Culham Road bridge is expected to commence in 2024.
VoWH Application Ref: P15/V2933/O