# Crowfields Farm, Fockbury Road, Dodford (new dwelling replacing barn and stables)

- **Decision:** approved, 21 August 2026
- **Decided by:** Council officer (delegated): Bromsgrove DC (delegated)
- **Authority:** Bromsgrove (West Midlands)
- **Application reference:** 25/01429/FUL
- **Procedure:** delegated
- **Development:** Demolition of stables and an agricultural building (the latter with Class Q approval) and construction of one four-bedroom dwelling
- **Homes:** 1
- **Site context:** green-belt, open-countryside, rural-lane
- **Green Belt:** yes (grey belt not-argued)
- **Framework applied:** August 2026 NPPF
- **Determinative policies:** GB7(1)(b), GB7(1)(e), GB7(1)(g)(iii), GB6(2)
- **Development plan policies:** Bromsgrove District Plan 2017 BDP1, BDP4, BDP16, BDP19
- **Main issues:** Green Belt exceptions, sustainable location, fallback as very special circumstances
- **Tags:** class-q-fallback, fallback, vsc-shown, sustainable-location-fail, openness-improvement, small-scheme

## Summary
A new dwelling in place of a barn (with Class Q consent) and stables in the Green Belt at Dodford. It fails GB7(1)(b), because a replacement must be for the same use. It fails GB7(1)(e), because agricultural land is not PDL. It fails GB7(1)(g)(iii): with a bus on two days a week, the site is not in a sustainable location. It was therefore inappropriate development. Very special circumstances were found in the Class Q fallback combined with a net reduction in built volume, and the application was approved four days into the new Framework.

## Issues and findings
- **Transition.** "Since the submission of the planning application the NPPF has been revised (17th August 2026) and as such the paragraphs referenced no longer exists. The exceptions to inappropriate development have been carried forward in the 2026 NPPF to Policy 'GB7…' and similar criteria apply" (Notice p.3).
- **GB7(1)(b) and (e): FAIL.** "The existing building is in agricultural and equestrian use and the proposed development is for a residential dwelling. Therefore the proposal would not meet with policy GB7:1.b … the definition at Annexe B of the NPPF specifically excludes land that is or was last occupied by agricultural buildings … Therefore the proposal would not comply with policy GB7:1.e" (p.3 to 4).
- **GB7(1)(g)(iii): FAIL.** "There is also a bus stop, however the service is extremely limited, with one bus in each direction to/from Bromsgrove on a Tuesday and Friday only. Otherwise there are no further facilities within proximity of the application site. It is therefore considered that the site does not lie within a sustainable location" (p.4).

## Planning balance
GB6(2) very special circumstances. Against: substantial weight to inappropriateness, plus harm from the unsustainable location. For: the Class Q fallback (one dwelling either way, with only one extra bedroom compared with the fallback), and "125.4 cubic metres less volume and 19.1 square metres less footprint … an improvement to the openness of the Green Belt when compared with either the existing situation on site or the consented Class Q prior approval". "these factors, in combination, are sufficient to amount to the very special circumstances" (p.5).

## What made the difference
The Class Q fallback, together with a smaller building. Without the prior approval, the location failure and inappropriateness would have been decisive.

## Transferable points
- A bus on two days a week and a first school alone do not make a sustainable location for GB7(1)(g)(iii) (p.4).
- A Class Q fallback combined with a net reduction in volume can amount to very special circumstances. The location harm is neutralised because the fallback would put a dwelling there anyway.
- Applications framed under the 2024 ¶154 are simply re-mapped to GB7(1). Officers treat the exceptions as carried forward with "similar criteria".

## Policy findings
- **GB7(1)(b): fail.** a replacement must be "for the same use"; agricultural/equestrian to residential does not qualify
- **GB7(1)(e): fail.** not PDL, because Annex B excludes land last occupied by agricultural buildings
- **GB7(1)(g)(iii): fail.** rural site; first school 180 m away but no other facilities; bus one each way on Tuesdays and Fridays only
- **GB6(2): pass (substantial weight).** very special circumstances shown by the Class Q fallback plus a reduction of 125.4 m³ in volume and 19.1 m² in footprint compared with the existing buildings

## Key facts
- Class Q prior approval (2024) for conversion of the agricultural part to a three-bedroom dwelling
- The new dwelling largely follows the existing footprint and height; 125.4 m³ less volume and 19.1 m² less footprint than the buildings removed
- [object Object]
- Bus service is one each way on Tuesday and Friday only; no facilities other than a first school 180 m away
- No objections; the parish asked about bats and the right of way

## Sources
- https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T6T3BOSEFOI00
- https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/files/5D729CCA7163091298F5683FE91DC952/pdf/25_01429_FUL-DECISION_NOTICE-1218506.pdf

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Source: https://planningdistilled.org/research/england/nppf-navigator/decisions/bromsgrove-25-01429-FUL.html

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