Development on Garden Land and Infill Sites in Cheltenham (June 2009)

This SPD, Development on garden land and infill sites in Cheltenham, interprets polices in the Cheltenham Local Plan. It is considered in decisions on planning applications and in defending decisions at appeal.

Every year, the council receives a significant number of planning applications for development on gardens of existing properties in Cheltenham . We are concerned that many of these are not of as high a quality as they should be. Some sites are simply unsuited for more building. Elsewhere, the designers have failed to fully consider the character of the area and the impact of their proposals on that character, or on nearby residents.

The purpose of the SPD is to help ensure that only well-designed garden land and infill schemes in the right places get the go-ahead. It is also about helping make poor quality applications a thing of the past.

The document gives clear guidance as to what sort of development on garden land and infill sites is and is not acceptable. This is inline with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework paragraph 53, although the SPD was written prior to the release of the National Framework.

The SPD:

  1. explains the factors which influence decisions on garden land/infill applications such as character, layout and amenity
  2. explains the process followed in deciding applications
  3. sets out what applicants need to do

The document is for residents, applicants, councillors, planners and anyone else who is interested in garden land and infill development.

The council refers to this document and policies in the development plan and NPPF when making its decisions so you should take it into account when preparing your application.