# Land at Yew Tree Lane, Fairfield (two dwellings)

- **Decision:** approved, 17 August 2026
- **Decided by:** Council officer (delegated): Ruth Bamford (Assistant Director, Planning, Leisure and Culture)
- **Authority:** Bromsgrove (West Midlands)
- **Application reference:** 26/00744/FUL
- **Procedure:** delegated
- **Development:** Two detached four-bedroom dwellings with access and landscaping on a 0.15 ha treed plot
- **Homes:** 2
- **Site context:** green-belt, settlement-edge
- **Green Belt:** yes (grey belt accepted)
- **Housing land supply (years):** 2.24
- **Framework applied:** December 2024 NPPF (transitional)
- **Determinative policies:** Transitional(1), GB7(1)(g)
- **Development plan policies:** Bromsgrove District Plan 2017 BDP1, BDP2, BDP4, BDP7, BDP16, BDP19, BDP21, BDP23
- **Main issues:** grey belt, sustainable location, transition
- **Tags:** transitional, grey-belt-accepted, not-inappropriate, housing-shortfall, small-scheme, decided-under-superseded-framework

## Summary
Two houses on a treed Green Belt plot on Yew Tree Lane, Fairfield, approved under delegated powers on 17 August 2026, the day the new Framework took effect. The embedded report applies the December 2024 Framework throughout: the ¶11(d) tilted balance, ¶155 grey belt and footnote 7. The 2026 Framework is not mentioned. The outcome would probably have been the same under GB7(1)(g), but this is the clearest example harvested of a decision issued on or after 17 August under the superseded Framework.

## Issues and findings
- **Framework applied.** Policy list: "National Planning Policy Framework (2024)" (Notice p.4). "Paragraph 11(d) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that where policies that are most important for determining the application are out-of-date, planning permission for new housing should be granted unless…" (p.5).
- **Grey belt (2024 ¶155).** "the site only makes a moderate contribution to checking the unrestricted sprawl of a large built-up urban area … the site makes a weak contribution to [purpose b] … no contribution to purpose d)" (p.7). "it is considered that the site is Grey Belt and would meet the Paragraph 155 requirements" (p.8).
- **Sustainable location.** The officer relies on the 2022 appeal: "the village of Fairfield clearly extends beyond the defined local plan village envelope, and the appeal site lies within the village of Fairfield" and facilities are "only some 400 metres, or about 5 minutes' walk … along pavements on both sides of Stourbridge Road" (p.7 to 8, quoting APP/P1805/W/21/3279054).

## Planning balance
The ¶11(d) tilted balance under the 2024 Framework: "the application is deemed acceptable in accordance with policies within the Bromsgrove District Plan, the National Planning Policy Framework and the High Quality Design SPD" (Conclusion, p.10).

## What made the difference
The 2022 appeal finding that the site is part of Fairfield village, 400 m along footways from facilities. That, with the 2.24-year supply, made grey belt, need and location straightforward under either Framework.

## Transferable points
- Decisions issued on 17 Aug 2026 may be assessed under the 2024 Framework. Transitional(1) says the new Framework applies to all decisions from that date, so the reasoning is open to challenge. Check the policy list on any notice from that week.
- An Inspector's finding that a site is "within the village" on the ground (Wood v SSCLG) carries over into the "sustainable location" limb.

## Policy findings
- **GB7(1)(g): pass.** assessed as 2024 ¶155 (a) to (d). Grey belt with (a) moderate, (b) weak, (d) none; unmet need (2.24-year supply); sustainable, relying on a 2022 appeal finding that the site is within Fairfield village and about 400 m (5 minutes' walk) from facilities
- **Transitional(1): not-engaged.** decision dated 17 Aug 2026, the day the new Framework took effect, but the notice lists "National Planning Policy Framework (2024)" and applies ¶11(d), ¶143, ¶154, ¶155 and footnote 7

## Key facts
- Decision notice dated 17 Aug 2026, the Framework's day of effect, and assessed entirely under the December 2024 Framework
- Supply 2.24 years at April 2025
- The site is outside the Fairfield settlement boundary but, per appeal APP/P1805/W/21/3279054 (Feb 2022), "lies within the village of Fairfield" on the ground
- Ten neighbour objections (Green Belt precedent, narrow lane, gap between Bournheath and Fairfield); no parish response
- A 2013 application for one dwelling on the site was refused

## Sources
- https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TH1GQOSELEZ00
- https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/files/A9A67B286EE4B0FE55525275334EA98C/pdf/26_00744_FUL--1217487.pdf

---

Source: https://planningdistilled.org/research/england/nppf-navigator/decisions/bromsgrove-26-00744-FUL.html

A summary of a public planning decision, written from the decision notice. Not legal advice. © Planning Distilled. Released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): share and adapt freely, with credit to Planning Distilled. Quotations from decision letters, plans and the Framework remain the copyright of their publishers.