- Decision
- approved, 17 September 2026
- Decided by
- Council planning committee: Worcester City Council Planning Committee
- Authority
- Worcester (West Midlands)
- Application reference
- 26/00541/FUL
- Procedure
- committee
- Development
- Variation of condition 2 of P10D0017 and L10D0007 (4 two-storey dwellings) to reposition the dwellings and keep the existing access; with listed building consent
- Homes
- 4
- Site context
- inside settlement, conservation area, listed building setting
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HE4, HE5, HE6(1), S4
- Development plan policies
- South Worcestershire Development Plan Review 2026 SWDPR09, SWDPR28, SWDPR33
- Main issues
- setting of listed building; conservation area
Summary
A condition variation to reposition four approved houses behind the Grade II listed Thorneloe House in Worcester's St George's Square Conservation Area. Keeping the existing access means part of a curtilage-listed wall need not be demolished. Officers quoted HE6 in full, found no effect on significance and recommended approval. The portal records approval issued on 18 Sep 2026. Committee minutes were not yet published.
Issues and findings
- Heritage, HE4 to HE6: NO HARM. "This proposal proposes to utilise the existing access and removes the need to demolish parts of an existing wall attached to Thorneloe House, a curtilage listed asset" (Report ¶7.11). "Having regard to Policy HE5 of the NPPF, the proposed works are considered to have no effect on the significance of the Grade II building" (¶7.13). The report concludes that the proposals comply with "Policies HE 4 and HE6 of the NPPF (2026)" (¶8.7).
Planning balance
None was needed once no harm was found. The extant 2010 permission made the principle a fallback.
What made the difference
The revision reduced physical harm (the wall is kept), and an extant permission established the principle.
Transferable points
- HE6(1) now carries the "irrespective of whether any potential effect amounts to … harm" wording. Officers quote it even where they find no harm (¶7.7).
- Drafting slip: the report's policy list mislabels HE5 as non-designated assets (that is HE7).
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(1) | neutral | substantial | HE6(1) to (4) quoted in full; the officer found no effect on the significance of the Grade II Thorneloe House or the St George's Square Conservation Area. Keeping the existing access avoids demolishing a curtilage-listed wall. |
| HE5 | neutral | the report's policy list labels HE5 "Proposals affecting non-designated heritage assets", but HE5 is "Assessing effects on heritage assets" and non-designated assets are HE7 |
Key facts
- The 2010 permission and listed building consent are extant; 2025 permissions also allowed a new access onto Thorneloe Walk
- The revision keeps the existing access, so part of the curtilage-listed wall to Thorneloe House no longer has to be removed
- Called in by the ward member; the portal shows approval issued 18 Sep 2026
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.