- Decision
- dismissed, 20 August 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: K Mee
- Authority
- Oldham (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6009498
- Application reference
- VAR/354748/25
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- s73 variation of hours and floodlight conditions on a 3G pitch to allow two non-football events a year until 11pm (May-Sept)
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- P3(1), P3(2)(b), P3(2)(d), P3(2)(e), DP3(2)(a)
- Development plan policies
- Oldham Joint Core Strategy 2011 Policy 9
- Main issues
- living conditions (noise and light)
Summary
A request to extend a community football stadium's pitch and floodlight hours to 11pm on two summer event days a year was dismissed. There was no noise evidence, and a draft event management plan could not mitigate the harm (DL ¶9, ¶11). The letter maps the new P3 and DP3 limbs expressly onto 2024 ¶¶135(f) and 198(a) (DL ¶13).
What made the difference
No acoustic evidence despite a previous refusal, and summer-evening timing when neighbours' windows and gardens are in use (DL ¶8-9).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| P3 | fail | no noise evidence; extended noise and light on summer evenings close to homes; conflicts with P3(1), P3(2)(b),(d),(e) and DP3(2)(a), which are "broadly consistent" with old paras 135(f) and 198(a) (DL 8-13) | |
| HE9 | neutral | no harm to the adjoining Garden Suburb Conservation Area (DL 7) |
Key facts
- Earlier refusal for 4 event days a year; no technical noise information despite that (DL 9)
- Framework "does not change the planning policy context" (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.