Land to the rear of Edoras, Banbury Road, Pillerton Priors

26/01894/PIP · Stratford-on-Avon District Council · Planning Committee, 23 September 2026 · notice 25 September 2026 · refused

Permission in principle for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 dwellings in the rear garden of a house inside the village. The officer recommended approval.

Planning record · Committee report · Update sheet

Cited in: 1. DP3(3) as a "should be refused" policy; 5. Walking routes and stations

Why this is cited. The mistake: the officer found the scheme contrary to DP3 and gave the harm “significant weight” in the S4 balance, without mentioning DP3(3) or asking whether the conflict had clear justification, and recommended approval. Members refused, finding that the harm would “substantially outweigh” the benefits, but the notice does not refer to DP3(3) either. What should have happened: the report should have asked whether there was clear justification for the conflict; if there was not, S4(2)(c) makes the benefits likely to be substantially outweighed. It is also cited in section 5 because its conclusion treats the village's Category 4 status as showing a sustainable location.

Key points

Location: the site is "within the physical confines of a Category 4 Local Service Village" (p.9), so the report applied S4.
Character: the scheme "would cause harm to the character the area and would not accord with NDMPs DP3 and N2 and Policies CS.5 and CS.9 of the Core Strategy" (p.12). "In light of NDMP DP3 (2), I afford this harm significant weight" (p.12).
Recommendation: the benefits, "most notably the benefit associated with the provision of up to 5 dwellings, would not be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects" (p.17).
The report does not mention DP3(3) or ask whether the conflict had clear justification.
Decision: refused. The notice finds "substantial harm to the character of Pillerton Priors village" and says "The harm is considered to substantially outweigh any benefits associated with the scheme", citing policies "S4, L2, DP3 and N2" (decision notice, p.1).
Village category: the site, "by virtue of its status as a Category 4 local Service Village is considered to be a sustainable location" (p.17), although "The level of sustainability is of course not high" (p.9).

Quotations are from the officer report, decision notice or appeal decision letter, with page (p.) or paragraph (¶) numbers. Read the decision itself for the full reasoning.

Summarised for the note on Stratford decisions under the August 2026 NPPF. Not legal advice. Back to the note.