- Decision
- dismissed, 23 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: B Plenty
- Authority
- Buckinghamshire (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6009281
- Application reference
- PL/25/5959/OA
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Outline permission for up to 4 dwellings (access only) on manège and part of a residential garden
- Homes
- 4
- Site context
- green belt, settlement edge
- Green Belt
- Yes (grey belt rejected)
- Housing land supply
- 1.98 years
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- GB6(2), GB7(1)(g)(i), AnnexB:grey-belt, GB7(1)(e)
- Development plan policies
- Chiltern District Local Plan 1997 (consolidated 2007/2011) GB2, GB8
- Main issues
- grey belt; PDL; inappropriate development; openness; VSC balance
Summary
Outline scheme for up to four houses on a manège and garden land on the open side of Denham Lane, at the edge of Chalfont St Peter. It was dismissed. The site was not PDL as a whole under GB7(1)(e) and was held not to be grey belt, because it makes a strong contribution to purpose (a) on the council's draft 2026 Green Belt Assessment. So the development was inappropriate. Four homes against an acute shortfall, in an accessible location, did not clearly outweigh the Green Belt harm.
Issues and findings
- Transition. Parties were invited to comment on the August 2026 Framework (DL ¶2). The plan GB policy got only moderate weight because GB7 is broader (DL ¶5-6).
- GB7(1)(e) PDL: FAIL. "As only part of the site can be regarded as previously developed, the site as a whole is not regarded as PDL" (DL ¶9). Even if it were PDL, "the scheme would significantly increase the scale of development on site and cause harm to the openness" (DL ¶11).
- Grey belt / GB7(1)(g)(i): FAIL. The inspector relied on the draft Green Belt Assessment "despite its draft status … the site makes a strong contribution to purpose 'a' due to its proximity to the town and the intact nature of the open Green Belt to the north, south and east" (DL ¶15). The conclusion is couched in encroachment terms: "the site performs strongly with respect to guarding against encroachment and thus cannot be regarded as grey belt land" (DL ¶18). Purpose (c) is not a grey belt purpose, so the ¶18 wording is vulnerable. The ¶15 purpose (a) finding carries the conclusion.
- Openness: moderate harm. Openness is visible from the highway, the adjacent footpath and the cemetery (DL ¶10).
- Accessibility. "bus stops within a short walk … High Street is also within a 15-minute walk … deemed to be in an accessible location, which also weighs in favour" (DL ¶21).
Planning balance
GB6(2) VSC balance. Substantial weight to Green Belt harm plus moderate openness harm. On the other side, housing counted "only of moderate significance being for only 4 dwellings" (DL ¶24), economic benefits had moderate to limited weight, and location had moderate weight (DL ¶25). The harm was "not clearly outweighed" (DL ¶26). The s38(6) conflict with LP GB2 then followed (DL ¶27).
What made the difference
Grey belt status. The site is on the open side of a road that forms a clear edge to the town, with intact countryside on three sides. A council-wide (even draft) Green Belt assessment scoring it strongly on purpose (a) was accepted as the starting point. Had the site been grey belt, (ii) (1.98-year supply) and (iii) (accessible, walkable to the High Street) would very probably have been met. The scheme would then not have been inappropriate.
Transferable points
- A manège is "fixed surface infrastructure" but only the surfaced part is PDL. A site partly PDL is "not regarded as PDL" as a whole for GB7(1)(e) (DL ¶9).
- A council's draft Green Belt assessment can be relied on for grey belt purpose (a), even though it is broad-brush and not site-specific (DL ¶15-16).
- A road forming a clear edge to the built-up area supports a strong purpose (a) contribution for land on the open side (DL ¶15).
- Even in an accessible location with a 2-year supply, four dwellings attract only moderate weight in a VSC balance (DL ¶24).
- Note the letter's apparent reliance on purpose (c) encroachment for grey belt (DL ¶16-18) and its inconsistent supply figures (0.75 years at DL ¶20, 1.98 at DL ¶24).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7(1)(e) | fail | manège is fixed surface infrastructure but covers about a third of the site, so the site as a whole is not PDL; four houses would in any case cause moderate harm to openness (DL 9-11) | |
| AnnexB:grey-belt | fail | site "strong contribution" to purpose (a) per council's draft 2026 Green Belt Assessment; Denham Lane a clear boundary to the built-up area; inspector's reasoning also relies on encroachment (purpose (c)) (DL 15-18) | |
| GB7(1)(g)(i) | fail | not grey belt so (g) fails; remaining limbs not reached (DL 18-19) | |
| GB6(2) | harm | substantial | inappropriate development plus moderate spatial/visual openness harm (DL 10, 23, 25) |
| HO7 | benefit | moderate | substantial in principle given 1.98-year supply but "only of moderate significance being for only 4 dwellings" (DL 24) |
| TR3 | benefit | moderate | bus stops a short walk, High Street within 15 minutes' walk; accessibility weighs moderately in favour (DL 21, 25) |
| Chiltern LP GB2 | conflict | moderate | plan GB policy only moderate weight because its exceptions are narrower than GB7 (DL 5-6) |
Key facts
- Site is a manège plus part of a large garden on the undeveloped side of Denham Lane; open Green Belt to north, south and east
- Council's draft 2026 Green Belt Assessment scored the area as strong contribution to purpose (a)
- Housing supply cited as 0.75 years (as of March 2024) at DL 20 and 1.98 years at DL 24 — inconsistency in the letter
- Accessible location - bus stops close, High Street within a 15-minute walk
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.