Planning

Current planning applications of concern in Gravenhurst 

A planning application proposing the construction of 5 new homes on land off Barton Road in-between Fairbourne and St Mary’s Church (site of old disused farm buildings that will be demolished) has been submitted under planning application reference CB/26/01932/FULL. You can review the application here: https://cbc.aifusion.io/planning/publicViewer.html?caseID=CB/26/01932/FULL

This site has been the subject of a multitude of planning applications over the past 5 years, some withdrawn and all others refused by both Central Bedfordshire Council and the Planning Inspector.   The Parish Council remains opposed to any development of this site and responses to the planning application need to be submitted by 28th August 2026.

If you would like to respond to this planning application please do so. To help we have provided a list of possible objections and notes on how to submit them to CBC below:

Reasons for objection: (download letter here)

1. The proposed development has not been included in the adopted Local Plan (2021).
2. A previous application on this site this was refused and an appeal dismissed  – Appeal Ref; APP/P0240/W/23/3332586 (CB/23/00941/OUT).  The reasons for dismissal have not changed.
3. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies SP7 – Gravenhurst is classified as a small village and development of this site would be outside of the settlement envelope and in open countryside. CBC Local Plan Policy SP7 states ‘Within Settlement Envelopes of Towns and Villages, development will be limited to infill development, small-scale employment uses and community facilities’.  This proposal meets none of this criteria.
4. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies HQ1 – This proposed development extends the footprint of the village west and urbanises the open countryside and would alter the visual impact and environment of the transition from village to open countryside. The proposal therefore does not comply with Local Plan Policy HQ1.
5. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies EE5 -Local Plan Policy EE5 states that ‘All development will be required to respect, retain and enhance the character and distinctiveness of the local landscape, by:
   1. Reflecting the local character and distinctiveness in terms of the scale and pattern of the surrounding landscape and existing settlement form; and 2. integrating on-site mitigation sympathetic to local character in scale with the landscape setting as well as the scale of the development’.  The proposed application by its location and design would harm the rural character and appearance of the location.  It would create a permanent, urbanising encroachment of the settlement envelope of Gravenhurst beyond a clearly defined boundary into rural, open countryside cascading down the hillside, removing pastureland and eroding the unsettled hill slope. It would not conserve, restore or improve character and distinctiveness of the landscape area and contradicts the Landscape Strategy for the character area. It would also diminish the intrinsic rural characteristics of the area around the rural Upper Gravenhurst settlement and setting.
6. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies H2 – The proposal seeks to provide homes for the over 55s however Census 2021 data shows that over 50% of the population of Gravenhurst were over 50 years of age therefore it is doubtful that the village has a lack of suitable accommodation for older people or that the provision of these homes will solve any lack of accommodation for the over 55’s in the area. The only actual marked bus stop in the village is at the far end of the High Street adjacent to the Methodist Chapel which means that the developer is suggesting that elderly residents will have to to to walk to the unofficial stop outside the closed church of St Giles or the official stop at the Methodist Chapel, exiting the proposed site where there is not footpath, crossing the road at the entrance to the village where there is limited view due to the natural curve of the road and walking a fair distance up 2 steep hills. The proposed site would house elderly residents on the far edge of the village away from the limited amenities they may wish to access, namely the Village Hall and Recreation Ground. Allocated sites in the Local Plan and windfall sites already approved will cater for homes for the 50+ / elderly dwellings therefore the proposal that these 2 homes are urgently required for the elderly in Gravenhurst makes no sense as there is no suggestion that these needs will not be met within the allocations in the Local Plan.  The application should therefore be refused.
7. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies HE2 – The proposal’s location would result in harm to the setting and character of the Grade I listed Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, and the Wrest Park Conservation Area which includes the House and Gardens also Listed as Grade1.
8. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Local Plan Policies TP1 – The proposals location would be unsustainable and have little connectivity to the village creating a distant, isolated, car-dependent community with a lack of safe walking, cycling or public transport connections to facilities e.g.: schools, healthcare and shops.
9. The application proposals conflict with the adopted Gravenhurst’s Neighbourhood Plan Policies RC3 & RC4.  The proposal conflicts with Neighbourhood Plan Policy RC3: Protecting the Landscape and the proposed site is also highlighted in the Neighbourhood Plan as a Protected View para 7.25 Policy RC4: Key Views item VII and durign the consultation Gravenhurst residents showed a ‘strong communal desire to maintain the rural nature of Gravenhurst and to enhance the Green Infrastructure, in turn protecting the local wildlife, the environment and preventing the continued fragmentation of habitat’.  
10. The land proposed for development is BMV land Grade 2 and is offered protection within the NPPF.

How to submit your comments to CBC:

Either email your comments directly to the Planning Officer: Jade.Johnson@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Or submit your comments online completing all the required information online: See here

Planning Applications 

Planning permission is generally required for any new development, and certain extensions to existing dwellings. The local planning authority Central Bedfordshire Council Planning Department is responsible for control of the planning process, and notifies the Parish Council of all planning applications that affect the Parish of Meppershall.  The Parish Council will be informed of planning applications such as:

• Advertisement Consent
• Conservation Area Consent
• Full Planning Application
• Listed Building Consent
• Outline Planning Application
• Regulation 3 where Central Bedfordshire Council is the Applicant
• Reserved Matters Planning Application
• S106 –Modification/Discharge
• Works to trees in a conservation area
• Works to trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order
  
• Variation of Condition
  
• Public Service Infrastructure Development

Meppershall Parish Council is therefore a statutory consultee on planning applications, and it is important to note that the Parish Council is not responsible for determining whether an application is granted or refused. The Parish Council will consider all planning applications during Parish Council meetings, and subsequent to this will resolve to either support, make comments on, or object.

How should I respond to planning applications?

How do I view planning application documents?