- Decision
- allowed, 23 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: P Brennan
- Authority
- Buckinghamshire (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6009022
- Application reference
- PL/25/5625/FA
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Demolition of two redundant agricultural buildings, conversion and extension of two traditional barns to 2 dwellings, and 2 new-build dwellings around a farm courtyard (non-determination)
- Homes
- 4
- Site context
- open countryside, listed building setting
- Green Belt
- No
- Housing land supply
- 3.73 years
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HO7, HE6, HE7(2)
- Development plan policies
- Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan BE1, BE2, C1(i), C3, H6C, I5, NE1
- Main issues
- character and appearance; setting of listed building; non-designated heritage assets
Summary
Four dwellings around a former farm courtyard at Beachampton were allowed after the council failed to decide the application: two converted traditional barns, which are non-designated heritage assets, and two new-build "barns". The council said it would have refused on design and heritage grounds. The inspector found a positive effect on character and no harm to the Grade II farmhouse or the barns. The housing benefit was given substantial weight under HO7 with supply at 3.73 years.
Issues and findings
- Design: POSITIVE. "the design of the new build dwellings, extensions and conversions would maintain and enhance the agrarian character of the former farm courtyard" (DL ¶16). New-build Barn 3 is taller, but "honest in design and would not try to disguise its form or function" (DL ¶29).
- Listed farmhouse: NO HARM. Its setting "has changed over time" and is now domestic (DL ¶21). "The proposed development would therefore preserve the setting of Manor Farmhouse … causing no effect" (DL ¶23), using the HE5(2) "no effect" category.
- NDHAs: NO HARM. HE7(2) was applied: the extension "would not diminish the legibility of Barn 2 as a former agricultural building" (DL ¶26, ¶31).
- Housing. "The Framework, at Policy H07, requires substantial weight to be given to the benefits of providing homes … This is especially pertinent in a district where the Council is not meeting its required 5-year supply of housing land at 3.73 years" (DL ¶48).
Planning balance
No heritage harm and a positive design effect, so there was no HE6(4) or HE7(2) balance to run. The scheme accorded with the plan, with the Framework as a material consideration. The letter never tests the open-countryside location against S5's list, perhaps because extant permissions established the residential principle.
What made the difference
Extant permissions for residential conversion (DL ¶34), a farmhouse setting that had already become domestic, and a design that kept the courtyard legible. Substantial HO7 weight in a shortfall area sealed it.
Transferable points
- HO7 gives substantial weight to housing benefits, "especially pertinent" where supply is short (3.73 years) (DL ¶48).
- Where a listed building's setting has already become domestic, sensitive residential conversion of former farm buildings can have "no effect" (DL ¶21-23).
- A scheme is not harmful simply because it differs from a previously approved scheme the council preferred (DL ¶27, ¶35).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| DP3 | benefit | conversions, cross-form extension and new barns maintain and enhance the agrarian courtyard; positive effect on character (DL 7-17) | |
| HE6 | neutral | no harm to setting of Grade II Manor Farmhouse, whose setting has already become domestic (DL 19-23) | |
| HE7(2) | neutral | Barns 1 and 2 are NDHAs; extension and taller glazed new-build Barn 3 do not harm their significance (DL 24-31) | |
| HO7 | benefit | substantial | substantial weight to 4 homes where supply is 3.73 years (DL 48-49) |
Key facts
- Supply 3.73 years (DL 48)
- Extant permission for 2 barn conversions and Class Q-type prior approval for 3 dwellings in Barn 3; the council preferred them (5 units), but that had "no material bearing" (DL 34-35)
- Open countryside site next to a business park; the letter does not apply S5 by code
- PD rights removed (Part 1 A-E, Part 2 A) to protect heritage (DL 46)
- Parties consulted on the 2026 Framework (DL 2)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.