The local planning authority holds that the proposed buildings would, both in themselves and by virtue of their association with a dwelling that was formerly an agricultural building, have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area of countryside in which the application site is located. As such, it is considered that the proposal is contrary to saved policy EV/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan 1991-2006, which states that planning permission will be granted for new development which respects and enhances the open and undeveloped nature of the countryside, to saved policy CT/2, which notes that, in areas defined as countryside, development acceptable in principle will be permitted where it would not harm the character and appearance of the countryside, to policies CS2 and CS11 of the Charnwood Local Plan 2006 to 2028 Core Strategy Pre-Submission Draft, which require new development to respect and enhance the character of the area in which it would be located and seek to protect the character of the Borough’s landscape and countryside, and to paragraphs 17 and 58 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

The application site lies in the open countryside, outside settlement development limits and in an unsustainable location. As such, the local planning authority considers that the proposal is contrary to saved policy ST/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan 1991-2006, which states that measures will be taken to pursue a strategy that generates sustainable patterns of development, to saved policy ST/2, which notes that, subject to certain exceptions, built development will be confined to allocated sites and other land within settlement development limits, and to saved policy CT/1, which provides details of exceptions, none of which is satisfied by the proposal.