- Decision
- approved, 26 August 2026
- Decided by
- Council planning committee: SDC Planning Committee 26 Aug 2026 (5 for, 2 against, 1 abstention); case officer Stuart Flaherty
- Authority
- Stratford-on-Avon (West Midlands)
- Application reference
- 25/00346/OUT
- Procedure
- committee
- Development
- Outline, all matters reserved, up to 217 dwellings (35% affordable, up to 76) with public open space; resolution to grant subject to S106
- Homes
- 217
- Site context
- settlement edge, open countryside, flood zone 2, flood zone 3
- Green Belt
- No
- Housing land supply
- 2.21 years
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S5(1)(j), S3(2), HO7, HO13(4)
- Development plan policies
- Stratford-on-Avon Core Strategy 2016 CS.5, CS.8, CS.9, CS.15, CS.18, AS.10, Southam NDP 2023 Policy 01, 3
- Main issues
- principle outside settlement; housing supply; landscape; archaeology; emerging allocation
Summary
Outline permission for up to 217 homes (35% affordable) on farmland east of Southam, a Main Rural Centre, within the emerging SWLP allocation SOU.1. The committee report was written under the December 2024 Framework's tilted balance. The update sheet for the 26 August meeting re-ran the conclusion under S3, S4 and S5 and found the benefits not "substantially outweighed". Committee resolved to grant, 5–2 with 1 abstention, subject to a S106 to be signed within six months. At 23 September the S106 was still being negotiated, so no decision notice had been issued.
Issues and findings
- Switch of Framework. Update sheet: "Previous NPPF 2024 paragraph 11(d) has now been superseded and does not apply … the second part of previous NPPF paragraph 11(d) … 'would significantly and demonstrably' … has now been removed" (26 Aug update sheet, minutes pack p.10). "Officers have reviewed the revised NPPF and are satisfied that it does not affect the substantive matters of the application" (p.11).
- S3(2) split site. "A very small part of the site is within the Built Up Area Boundary for Southam – namely the proposed cycle / footway that feeds into Stowe Drive only … NDMP S3.2 states 'where a development proposals falls partly within and partly outside a settlement, policies S4 and S5 should be applied to the relevant parts'" (update sheet p.10).
- S5(1)(j): PASS. "This development would address an evidenced unmet need; namely where the Council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and would be physically well-related to an existing settlement, and of a scale which can be accommodated within Southam" (p.10). S5(2) was quoted, and no "should be refused" policy was engaged.
- HO7. "I afford substantial weight to benefits of providing homes to an evidenced unmet need" (p.11). The report itself had said "significant" (Report p.34).
- HO13(4), emerging strategic site. "This site is within a draft allocation in the South Warwickshire Local Plan … this scheme … would not be inconsistent with the proposed scale, location and phasing of this strategic site" (update sheet p.11).
- S6 / old para 14. The Southam NDP was made in July 2023 and has allocations, but "they are considered to be out-of-date with regard to housing land supply. This has been recently confirmed in the Council's Interim Policy Position Statement (IPPS) dated June 2026" (Report p.12). The update sheet did not revisit this under S6.
- Harms. Landscape and locational conflict: "no more than moderate weight" (Report p.33). BMV loss (5.2% Grade 3a): limited weight. Archaeology (NDHA): harm outweighed by housing (Report pp.34–35).
Planning balance
Report (old test): benefits significant (market and affordable housing), moderate (BNG, economy, open space, S106), limited (archaeology outreach). Adverse effects were no more than moderate, so "would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh" (Report p.35). Update sheet (new test): substantial weight to housing under HO7, and benefits "not substantially outweighed by any of the adverse effects" under S4 and S5.
What made the difference
A large, allocated-in-draft, 35%-affordable edge extension to a Main Rural Centre passes S5(1)(j) easily. The re-anchoring shows SDC's view that moving from 11(d) to S5 changes the label on the balance, not the outcome. It is a reference point for how SDC deals with reports caught mid-cycle by the new Framework.
Transferable points
- SDC's transitional practice: reports finalised before 17 Aug were re-anchored by an update sheet stating that the new NPPF "does not affect the substantive matters". Consultees and members were not re-consulted (update sheet p.11).
- S3(2) is being applied to split sites where only an access link lies within the BUAB (p.10).
- SDC treats a made NDP (2023) with allocations as "out of date" through the IPPS, which defeats the allocations limb of S6 (Report p.12). Check whether this survives the new S6 wording, "contains allocations to meet its identified housing requirement".
- HO13(4) is used as a positive consistency test for sites inside emerging strategic allocations (p.11).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| S5(1)(j) | pass | adjoins Main Rural Centre Southam; well related and of a scale Southam can accommodate | |
| S3(2) | pass | only the footway and cycleway link to Stowe Drive is inside the BUAB, so S4 applied to that part and S5 to the rest | |
| HO7 | benefit | substantial | update sheet raised housing from "significant" (report) to "substantial" weight under HO7 |
| HO13(4) | pass | site within draft SWLP strategic allocation SOU.1; scheme "not … inconsistent with the proposed scale, location and phasing" | |
| S6 | not-engaged | Southam NDP made 11 Jul 2023 with allocations, but allocations treated as out of date under the IPPS (June 2026), so the allocations limb failed (decided under the old para 14 wording) | |
| DP3 | harm | moderate | moderate landscape and character harm; conflict with CS.5, CS.9, CS.15, AS.10 "no more than moderate weight" |
| HE7 | harm | loss of Iron Age / Roman archaeological remains (non-designated), outweighed by housing | |
| HO8 | benefit | significant | up to 76 affordable homes |
Key facts
- Report drafted under the Dec 2024 NPPF (tilted balance 11(d), para 14); new Framework published after the agenda; update sheet said 11(d) "has now been superseded and does not apply" and applied S3/S4/S5
- Supply 2.21 years; gap to 5 years at least 3,261 homes, "may be in the region of 4,000-5,000 homes"
- Draft SWLP allocation SOU.1 (Land to the East of Southam); SWLP at Reg 19, given very limited but positive weight
- 94.8% Grade 3b, 5.2% Grade 3a (BMV); loss given limited weight
- The linked full application for the A423 island and crossing (25/00347/FUL) was deferred the same night; back on the 23 Sep 2026 agenda with a grant recommendation
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.