May 2026 – Planning permission granted on appeal for three new homes, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire

A planning inspector has allowed an appeal against refusal of permission by Stratford on Avon District Council for three new homes within a Conservation Area in the town of Wellesbourne, near Stratford.

The site had the benefit of an extant permission for two homes  however the local authority was resistant to a terrace of three houses, each with 2 bedrooms and a rear garden.

JPPC were successful in persuading the Inspector that the absence of reference to national minimum space standards within Stratford’s local development plan (and its supplementary planning guidance) meant that these national level standards could not be relied upon by the Council to assess the development.

The Inspector accepted that the dwellings enjoyed appropriate levels of internal amenity and while back-to-back distances were smaller than the Council’s design guidance would typically accept,  the Inspector was mindful that the Council’s guidance also identifies other factors which need to be taken into account in assessing the suitability of separation distances, including (in this case) the historic layout of development within a town centre.

Furthermore, whilst the sizes of gardens provided in each case fell below the standards set out in the Council’s design guidance document, the Inspector noted that this is not untypical of town centre locations. In each case, the gardens still provided usable space for garden furniture as well as bin storage, providing acceptable living conditions for future occupants.

Designer: Clelford Essex Associates

Client: KJ Brookes Builders Ltd