Dwelling in the Green Belt - Farmborough, Bath

Key Skills: Permission in Principle

Green Belt

‘Group of houses’

Category: Permission in Principle

LPA: Bath & North East Somerset Council

The Project

Tadman Planning Consultants has successfully secured Permission in Principle for a new dwelling on a Green Belt site where the principle of residential development presented a number of planning challenges.

The application was supported by a detailed planning case which drew upon a recent appeal decision on a nearby site, where the Inspector had considered similar issues concerning the location and sustainability of new residential development. We used the reasoning in that decision, together with the Council's housing land supply position and national planning policy, to demonstrate why development of the site could be supported.

During the application, however, the Council indicated that it intended to refuse permission, principally because it considered the site to be in an unsustainable location. We challenged that assessment and provided further representations explaining why the proposed dwelling should not be regarded as isolated and why the Council's proposed approach was inconsistent with the relevant policy and appeal evidence.

Following reconsideration, the Council changed its position and Permission in Principle was granted in July 2026.