120-home occupation change at Land At Rectory Farm, Barrowby Road, Grantham

“Description of the proposal 2.1 The current application is a Section 73 planning application seeking to vary Condition 10 (Off-site highways) of planning permission S25/0592. As approved Condition 10 states: “No more than 150 dwellings within the development hereby approved either alone or in combination with planning permission (S16/2816, S23/0592, S24/0140, S24/1442 or S24/1443) (or any subsequent variations to these planning permissions) shall be occupied, until…”

“The application has been accompanied by a Highways Capacity Technical Note (Pell Frischmann), which outlines the results of updated highways modelling based on new traffic and queue surveys completed in September 2025. Whilst works are being progressed with the technical approval for the junction improvement works, the programme for the delivery of the site and the junction improvement works do not align.”

“Description of the site 1.1 The application site comprises part of Phase 1 of the Rectory Farm development situated on the north-western edge of Grantham. Phase 1 consists of two parcels of land being delivered by Vistry Group and Jelson Homes; the current application has been submitted in relation to the parcel being developed by Jelson Homes.”

“The current development site is bound to the east by land owned by Vistry Group, which forms the remainder of Phase 1 of the Rectory Farm development and benefits from planning permission for 228 dwellings (LPA Ref: S16/2816), beyond which lies the ongoing Poplar Farm development.”

“Taking all of the above into account, it is Officer’s assessment that the proposed variation to Condition 10 would not result in any unacceptable adverse impacts on highways safety or capacity. As such, the application scheme would accord with Policy ID2 and GR3-H2 of the adopted Local Plan and Paragraph 116 of the National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024).”

“National Highways (as Strategic Highways Authority) have accepted the findings of the submitted highways capacity modelling, which concludes that the A1 slip road would not operate beyond the position deemed to be acceptable as part of the previous appeal hearing. Whilst the A52 filter lane would operate at a higher queue length and capacity, than the consented position, this is not a severe impact when viewed in the context of the current operation of the junction.”

“Please note that this section includes a summary of the consultation responses. Full details are available to view on the Council’s Planning Portal under the application reference S26/0037. Lincolnshire County Council (Highways & SuDS) 5.2.1 No objection. The junction affected by this variation is in the Strategic Road Network and it is therefore advised that National Highways recommendation is followed.”

“Approval would signal that applicants can incrementally erode protective conditions through repeated variations, fundamentally contrary to the plan-led development framework. Highways Safety, Capacity and Cumulative Impacts 5.3.5 The A1/A53 junction already experiences significant capacity constraints and safety issues. Allowing 300 occupations would substantially increase traffic during the extend interim period before mitigation.”

“Representations as a Result of Publicity 6.1 The application has been advertised in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement and letters of representation have been received from 22 interested parties, 1 of whom has supported the application and the remaining representations have all raised formal objections. The letters of representation have raised the following matters: 1.”

“It was proposed, seconded and AGREED to authorise the Assistant Director – Planning & Growth to GRANT planning permission, subject to conditions:”

“Soft Landscaping 9) Before the end of the first planting / seeding season following the occupation / first use of any part of the development hereby permitted, all soft landscaping works have been carried out in accordance with the soft landscaping details approved under application S23/0092, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.”

“SK18/SB JCN/Rev P1)] or any other alternative scheme providing the same mitigation that may be submitted to and approved in writing by the LPA has been completed. Reason: To ensure that the A1 / A52 junction has adequate capacity to accommodate the additional traffic generated by the development.”