- Decision
- approved, 9 September 2026
- Decided by
- Council planning committee: Cotswold DC Planning and Licensing Committee
- Authority
- Cotswold (South West)
- Application reference
- 26/01098/FUL
- Procedure
- committee
- Development
- Single-storey pavilion restaurant in the rear garden of a Grade II listed hotel, replacing temporary structures
- Site context
- inside settlement, conservation area, listed building setting, national landscape
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HE6, N4(1)
- Development plan policies
- Cotswold District Local Plan 2011-2031 EN1, EN2, EN4, EN5, EN10, EN11
- Main issues
- setting of listed building; conservation area; noise and amenity
Summary
A redesigned garden pavilion restaurant behind the Grade II listed Dial House Hotel, in the Bourton-on-the-Water Conservation Area and the Cotswolds National Landscape. An earlier scheme had been refused for "considerable" less than substantial harm. Officers found the orangery-style redesign caused no harm, so the HE6(4) balance was not engaged. The committee permitted it after a motion to refuse found no seconder.
Issues and findings
- Heritage, HE6: NO HARM. "The earlier refused scheme was found to cause less than substantial harm, described as considerable, by virtue of development of the open historic rear garden and by virtue of the scale and uncharacteristic design" (Report ¶10.19). "No harm to designated heritage assets is identified, and subject to the recommended conditions, the proposal is considered to accord with … Chapter 20 of the NPPF and specifically Policy HE6" (¶10.22).
- National Landscape, N4(1): PASS. Officers quote the new wording "Substantial weight should be placed on the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of these areas" (¶10.25) and find the building would "conserve the natural beauty of the Cotswolds National Landscape" because it is in an enclosed garden in the built-up centre (¶10.26).
Planning balance
None was needed on heritage once no harm was found. Amenity (noise) was dealt with by conditions and a noise management plan.
What made the difference
The redesign closed the gap with the earlier refusal. The low height, the orangery idiom and the retained garden openness took the heritage finding from "considerable less than substantial harm" to "no harm", so no HE6(4) public-benefit balance was required.
Transferable points
- N4(1) now says "substantial weight" where the 2024 Framework said "great weight". Officers quote the new wording (¶10.25).
- A heritage refusal can be overcome by design alone, without new public benefits, if the officer finding moves to "no harm" (¶10.19 to 10.22).
- The draft minutes are internally inconsistent: the vote table says the motion was "Rejected" with no votes for, but the text says "RESOLVED: to PERMIT". Check the final minutes and the decision notice before relying on this case.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HE6 | neutral | no harm to the setting of Grade II Dial House or its listed wall, or to the conservation area; the earlier refused scheme had caused "less than substantial harm, described as considerable" | |
| N4(1) | pass | officers quote the new "Substantial weight should be placed on the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty"; the scheme sits in an enclosed garden in the built-up centre |
Key facts
- 17th-century Grade II listed house, a hotel since 1988; the pavilion is a contemporary orangery in Cotswold stone, metal glazing and copper
- A previous scheme was refused for less than substantial ("considerable") harm; this one was redesigned after pre-application advice
- Objections from the parish council and neighbours were about noise and repeated unauthorised temporary structures
- [object Object]
Related decisions
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.