# Fowlers Dairy, Small Lane, Earlswood

- **Decision:** approved, 18 August 2026
- **Decided by:** Council officer (delegated): SDC delegated (case officer SL, 18 Aug 2026)
- **Authority:** Stratford-on-Avon (West Midlands)
- **Application reference:** 26/01608/FUL
- **Procedure:** delegated
- **Development:** Replacement of a lawful light-industrial building (former cheese factory) with a new commercial building
- **Site context:** green-belt, open-countryside
- **Green Belt:** yes (grey belt not-argued)
- **Framework applied:** August 2026 NPPF
- **Determinative policies:** GB7(1)(b)
- **Development plan policies:** Stratford-on-Avon Core Strategy 2016 CS.10, CS.22, AS.10(l), Tanworth-in-Arden NDP E1
- **Main issues:** Green Belt replacement building
- **Tags:** not-inappropriate, gb7-b-replacement, materially-larger-threshold, rural-business, stratford-relevant

## Summary
A replacement commercial building in the Green Belt at Earlswood, granted under delegated powers on 18 August 2026. This is one of the first SDC decisions to quote GB7(1)(b). A 16% increase in volume with a smaller footprint was held "not materially larger".

## Issues and findings
- **GB7(1)(b).** "The development falls within GB.7 (b) as the replacement building, would remain in the same use and is not materially larger than the building it replaces. The existing building has a footprint of 458sqm and volume of 1985 cubic metres … The proposed building would have a footprint of 414sqm and volume of 2307 cubic metres, with a height of 6.5 metres" (Report p.5).
- **Development plan.** AS.10(l) supports redevelopment "at a similar scale of an existing building for business purposes". CS.22 and NDP E1 support it (pp.3–4).

## Planning balance
Not inappropriate, so no very special circumstances needed. Policy-compliant and granted.

## What made the difference
Same use and a near-identical envelope.

## Transferable points
- SDC benchmark for GB7(1)(b) replacements: +16% volume, -10% footprint and +0.3 m height is "not materially larger" (p.5).

## Policy findings
- **GB7(1)(b): pass.** same use; footprint 458 to 414 sq m (-10%), volume 1,985 to 2,307 m3 (+16%), height 6.2 to 6.5 m, held "not materially larger"
- **Transitional(2): accord.** CS.10(d) "defers back" to the NPPF, so treated as consistent

## Key facts
- Lawful use confirmed by LDC 23/03181/LDE (light industrial)
- Existing building sub-standard (low eaves, asbestos roof)
- Decided the day after the 2026 Framework took effect, citing GB7(b) verbatim

## Sources
- https://apps.stratford.gov.uk/Eplanningv2/AppDetail/Index/dabddd9d-7a83-cfca-d4fa-08ded2a14b9a

---

Source: https://planningdistilled.org/research/england/nppf-navigator/decisions/stratford-26-01608-FUL.html

A summary of a public planning decision, written from the officer report. 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.