CONTEXT 187 : MARCH 2026 11 carrying out unauthorised work to the floor of a Grade I listed building, designed by architect John Wood the Elder, within a world heritage site. The works affected its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, which the judge found to be reckless and negligent. Knight Frank were fined £120,000 and Emery Brother (Bath) £70,000, and the council’s costs of £60,000 were split between them. Appeals Ref: APP/Q3115/W/24/3343775 Outline planning permission sought for clearance of a site in the green belt and the erection of buildings for employment use (120,000 sq m of Use Class E employment floorspace); inappropriate development in the green belt. Both parties agreed that there would be less than substantial harm to the conservation area and listed buildings. The site forms part of the rural setting and historic agricultural hinterland of the settlement, contributing to the significance of these assets. The proposed urbanisation (in terms of built form, activity, lighting and movement) would erode this rural setting and weaken the ability to appreciate the village as a historic agricultural settlement. Harm to all four listed buildings and the conservation area was judged to be ‘middle of the less than substantial range’. Not deemed to be grey belt and no very special circumstances exist. Appeal dismissed. Ref: APP/Y3940/W/25/3370482 Outline planning application for a residential development and up to 1, 550 sq m mixed-use hub (Use Class E), with associated access roads. One of the issues raised by a Rule 6 party (an individual or group that has been granted full participation status in a public inquiry or planning appeal) was the impact of the proposed development on the setting a nearby listed building. However, neither Historic England nor the local planning authority had raised an objection. The inspector did not consider that there was an impact on the listed building. Allowed with costs: the appellant was awarded costs against the Rule 6 party. Ref: APP/Z2260/W/25/3368475 Planning application for the erection of up to 200 dwellings (Class C3) with car parking. The sole main issue related to the impact on a designated heritage asset, a Grade II listed cross described as ‘a piece of 19th-century sculptural masonry modelled on surviving AngloSaxon crosses’. The inspector found that the proposed development would effectively move the perceived edge of the settlement westwards, absorbing the cross into the urban townscape. This would have a transformative effect on how the heritage asset was seen and experienced. The inspector concluded that the appellant had failed to demonstrate that the development could be delivered without causing unacceptable harm to the significance of designated heritage asset. The development would fail to preserve its setting. Appeal dismissed. Casework: gardens Rousham House and Gardens (Grade I, with a Grade I registered park and garden) is the subject of significant heritage concern due to major development proposals at Upper Heyford/Heyford Park in Cherwell District. The proposals are framed as a ‘new town’ of up to 9,000 homes. The Georgian Group considers that it would pose substantial harm to the setting, views, tranquillity and significance of the Rousham landscape, designed by William Kent in 1737. Adlington Hall Park and Gardens (Grade I, with Grade II* registered park and garden) The government-appointed New Towns Taskforce has supported a private property developer’s proposal for up to 20,000 homes across 1,000 hectares of rural Cheshire, including land in and around the Adlington Hall Estate, as one of 12 potential new town locations. This is not a traditional estate diversification scheme but a proposal for a strategic settlement in the green belt. Alexandra Fairclough, chair of the north west branch of the IHBC, is the cultural heritage and design lead at Bolton Council. Called to the Bar in 2009, she sits on the IHBC legal panel and lectures on heritage planning law. William Kent, designer of Rousham Gardens
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